6 Months with the Hyuuga Family
by Whipped Coffee
Summary: To be loved by someone, by anyone, it makes life shine, like this. -AU-
1. Nov 19, Sun

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day One_

* * *

**Chapter 1**—Mission

_Beginnings were always the funniest things. When it starts, you want it to end. When it ends, you want it to start all over again, because it is only then you truly appreciate the innocent, happy, glorious way things were. You start to realize that the closer you are to the end, the further you are from the beginning. You realize that you can't turn back time, you can't go back to the past, you can't change the mistakes, change the actions, change the words you've said to one another, because you can't._

_You can't take back what you've said and done, and in the end, you end up hurting people who you've never wanted to hurt, people who you've never wanted to see cry and you see that in the end, no matter how much you apologize, no matter how many times you hug, kiss and make up, it won't take the pain away._

_And in the end, it doesn't matter._

_It doesn't matter, because in the end, a foolish girl like me will continue to fall deeper and deeper in love with a foolish boy like you._

l l l

_Day One_

White walls were unappealing.

White was so bland. White, the girl knew, symbolized purity, innocence, new beginnings, and anything of that sort. White walls though, were just white. It doesn't matter what it symbolized – in fact, the symbolism overall, was cliché, overused, and an utter drag (especially in times of testing – the typical question, 'what did the white flag represent?') The girl preferred a much simpler and practical explanation of colors.

For example, white walls weren't that great. White in general, wasn't that great. It got dirty easily, and getting a stain out was just hell.

In fact, she could see a stain there, right in the corner of the office. It was a pen mark of some sort. A pen mark that suspiciously looked like it was made by the pen she threw at the wall last week when she was sitting in the same chair, at the same office, at the same time.

_Oops._

"Tenten, are you listening to me?"

White walls were really not the best choice for this guy. Maybe black walls would fit him better – if the walls were black, she wouldn't be able to spot that pen mark that she made last week. And that other stain over to the other side (probably from the lunch she threw two weeks ago).

"Tenten."

Black was too depressing, now that she thought about it. Another color would suit him better. A color that represented who he was, a color that blatantly stated his personality and temperance.

"TENTEN."

A color like...

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?"

Red.

Bright red.

"Hm?" The girl switched her attention from the wall to the man in front of her. "I'm sorry, there is a stain on y our wall and it was distracting me. You should really clean that out. Or paint it over. Did you think over my suggestion about painting this whole place red?"

The man breathed in and out slowly, muttering some phrases to himself. The girl smiled to herself – maybe they were from those relaxation videos that she gave him last Christmas. "Now as I was saying," he cleared his throat, as if his outburst never happened. "Your current family who has generously adopted you decided to disown you."

_...Ouch. It hurts to hear the actual word._

"Finally," the girl sighed in relief. "I was wondering when that dysfunctional family would give up on me. They kept me a week longer than I expected."

"Tenten, this is a serious matter," he said, glaring at the girl's dismissive attitude. "It's not something you can wave off and accept so easily. If the Hyuugas hadn't generously decided to take you in, you would have been out in the streets, penniless, homeless and starving. You need to be on your best behavior and not go on a wild rampage—"

"What?" She cut in, her eyes widening. "What did you just say?"

The man breathed in and out slowly. "Were you not listening to what I was just saying? I said to _not _go on a wild rampage—"

"No, the part before that. Someone decided to take me in?" The surprise was evident in her tone of voice. "Why? Who? When? _What? _Who is this insane person to agree to take me in? Do they not know that—"

"Tenten." It took more than enough energy for him to restrain himself and not bellow out the profanities that he had in his mind right at this moment. "Yes, someone has decided to take you in. You should thank this said person when you see him, because he is a saint and I do not know another sane person who would even allow you near their family, much less themselves."

Halfway through his rant, she had already tuned him out. Someone wanted to take her in. Immediately after she was kicked out of her adopted family.

How suspicious.

And stupid.

Did they not see her records? Did they not know what she was capable of? Did they realize what would happen if they took her in?

She stared at the man who was continuing his rant, getting more and more intense with each passing second. She grew amused when he slightly became red from the anger he was spewing out.

_Poor Maki. You push yourself too hard, caring for me. I'll get you something even better next Christmas. Like the new and improved yoga set that helps with stress._

"...red! You even painted his whole room red! Are you that obsessed with red Tenten? Do you feel the need to paint everyone's room _red_? You told me to paint my room red too! It would be good to have variation, so why not yellow, green, heck, _even purple_! It doesn't make sense to paint _red _in this kid's room! Not that many people like red, Tenten, you have to understand that! And I'm not telling you it's good to paint another person's room too!"

Maki had a habit of ranting over something small when he gets irritated. He also had the habit of a throbbing vein on the side of his neck and also on his balding forehead whenever he got worked up over something. Although that can't really be called a habit; it was more like a natural reaction to irritating things.

It was pretty fun to look at, especially when his face was growing red along with it.

"...cat! How can you do that Tenten? Was inflicting damage to their children not enough for you? Was painting the room red, _three times_, not enough for you? You had to go ahead and drop the cat, too! You can't force someone, even if it is a cat, to like you if they don't like you!"

Well, she didn't like cats in the first place either. Cats were... cats. They just slept everywhere. She wanted to see Mr. Fluffy do some cool tricks, but in the end of that, Mr. Fluffy wasn't so fluffy after she accidentally dropped the cat into a can of red paint (which, for some reason would not get off the fur, so in the end, Mr. Fluffy became... Mr. Naked?).

The red looked better than the stupid black and white pattern that made Mr. Fluffy look like a cow.

"So Tenten, I hope you understand that I'm just trying to help you get settled. I don't want you to be floating from house to house, like a useless annoying ball of dust. Make this the last time you need to switch. _Please,_" he said earnestly.

She didn't have anything against cows though. She liked cows. In fact she had a fish named cow. Well, it wasn't really her fish. It belonged to someone else, but she called the fish cow when the actual owner wasn't looking/near.

In her defense, it was a much better name than Gill.

Who names a fish Gill?

"Tenten, are you listening to me? You know, you really need to correct this habit of yours. It's not healthy to daydream, especially when someone is talking to you. It is disrespectful and rude, and if it weren't for the fact that I—"

"Maki," she cut in, frowning to herself. "Would you name a fish Gill?"

* * *

Simplicity was her favorite word. If one asks a question, then there should only be one answer. If one runs into a sticky situation, there should only be one solution. If one is in a competition, there should only be one winner and one loser. If one is trapped in a maze, there should only be one direction to go in. The right direction.

But now, stepping up on steps of the Hyuuga Manor, she was mind blown. This... whatever _this _was, seemed to stretched for miles and miles, like it was a city itself. There didn't seem to be an end to the place, even though there was clearly a beginning.

When for simpletons like her, when there's a beginning, there's an end.

So why did it seen like this only stretched on for mile and miles?

And if that was bizarre, there was something even more bizarre right in front of her. There was a man. With pearl eyes. Was that even possible? Were those contacts he wore to make himself look hip and cool and... _young_? She frowned (although she quickly dropped it, after all, she was supposed to be on her best behavior).

_With those wrinkles, you can't fool anyone into thinking you're hip, cool and young, old man._

"You are Tenten," he stated, peering down at the girl.

She nodded, wondering if she should say anything else. In other circumstances she would come up with something clever to say, but this man's presence was quite intimidating. Maybe the purpose of the eye color wasn't for trying to look young. Maybe it was to frighten people.

Man, she totally needed a pair of contacts like those.

"I am Hyuuga Hiashi," he said, continually staring at the girl who made no movement to say anything back.

She nodded once again, not knowing if she should say anything more. The two stood in awkward silence – Hiashi staring at her, and her, staring at something else other than him.

The eyes truly did freak her out.

"I am aware that you have caused trouble for your previous guardians," he said, finally causing her to look up into his eyes. "I hope that you do not do the same for us, or it will be a pity to send you back."

Tenten continued to nod. What else could she do? It was as if her tongue was twisted and tied, much like those pretzels that she hated.

"You look like you have something to say," he inquired thoughtfully, still staring at the girl. "Do not worry, I will not send you back for merely asking a question."

She opened her mouth, but nothing would come out. She cleared her throat a bit, embarrassed that she was being this afraid of a man with somewhat cool eyes.

For gods' sake, she's been in more frightening situations like these and she hadn't been afraid then.

"Why did you take me in?" She finally asked.

He didn't answer right away, as if he was thinking of the right words to answer her question with. "You remind me of someone," was all he said. He looked at her, as if analyzing her features and expressions. "Do not worry about the reason. You will be able to live here for six months before you are able to move out. I trust that you will get a job and apartment before that time limit."

Time limit?

Of course. She couldn't stay and freeload for her entire life.

"The maid will show you which room you are staying in," Hiashi gestured to the maid who appeared next to him. The maid bowed politely and Tenten was at a loss at what to do. Should she bow back? Laugh? Smile? What should she do?

But it was too late to do anything, because the maid had already picked up the luggage. "Please come with me, Tenten-san," the maid said.

And, like she had said to herself before, she liked simple things a lot better. Simple things like an apartment with two bedrooms, a house with only two floors, or anything of that sort.

But a huge mansion? With more than one hallway, more than ten (she had been counting) doors? That was beyond her imagination. She had thought that getting away from the last family she was with would be less stressful, but the amount of turning and twisting she needed to do just to reach her room was beyond stressful.

It was...

Mind blowing. For the lack of better words.

"There will be a formal dinner event," the maid said, letting Tenten into the room first, following shortly afterwards with the luggage. "There is a dress provided in the closet. If it is the wrong size or is not to your liking, press that button," she gestured to the red (Tenten smiled at this) button near the closet, "and I will come to assist you. Please wash up before putting on the dress; I have already prepared the bath for you. Tardiness is unacceptable. I will come to escort you at six," the maid said, bowing before leaving the room.

She only stared after the maid, a little befuddled but still content. Pushing some unnecessary thoughts aside, she looked ahead into the room, immediately frowning.

There they were.

Taunting her again.

Those goddamn white walls.

* * *

Somehow, she knew that deep inside, she wouldn't get used to this place. An hour after her arrival, she was already lost when she went exploring. Utterly and hopelessly lost. The doors all looked the same, and even the decorations in the hallways were similar in color, flower, and paintings. Would it kill the person who decorated this to have differentiate the halls?

And for some reason, she found herself staring curiously at this semi-open door. It almost as if it was coaxing her to come in, beckoning her. She looked around her, only to find the hallway empty, and lifeless. Was there a single soul around here? From the time she arrived to the time she was exploring, she hadn't seen a single soul in the Manor at all. It was almost ominous.

Well, since there wasn't anyone near, she might as well have some fun.

The door creaked when she lightly pushed it wider, allowing her enough room to walk in. To her disappointment, there was nothing special about this room at all. The only difference was that there was a neatly filled bookshelf, and a few picture frames set up on the desks. Curiosity getting the better of her, she inched closer to the picture frames. The first of the two was of a young boy with an older man, a man who looked similar to Hiashi. She shuddered when she saw the eyes – maybe the eyes were natural. The next picture perked her i nterest. It was of a girl, with vibrant pink hair, and a smile that seemed contagious.

Pink hair. Pearl eyes. What in the world?

She suddenly felt a cold shiver up her spine. She suddenly grew cold, Last time she felt like this, she wasn't able to move for two weeks. And the time before that, she had been thrown out in the streets, hungry and cold on a snowy winter day.

So this time, it would be just as bad.

"What are you doing in here?"

She paused in her thoughts. She hadn't even heard someone come in. Maybe there really were actual people living here, then. She had to think quick; she couldn't hesitate for too long, or else who knows what might happen to her. From the sound of his voice, he seemed like he would actually butcher her to pieces. She didn't want that to happen.

She liked being whole.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked once again, louder.

_I ain't deaf, I hear you._

She didn't have the guts to say it to his face—who the in the world would, when he sounded like _that_? Perhaps she was just being paranoid. She had the tendency to do that – especially in situations like these. But in her defense, being paranoid was only natural when there was a fire breathing dragon standing behind you only five seconds away from devouring you whole.

So she had two options (which she hated, by the way. She only liked situations with one options, and if she could, she would only come up with one, but since her life was on the line, having more than one option was good enough for her).

First one was, although quite horrifying, to actually turn around and stand up for herself. _No_, she will say to the dragon. _No, I will not become your dinner and let you consume me whole (or worse, consume me whole and then chew me up into pieces) when I still have more than twenty years of my life ahead of me. _The second plan, was to run. Run, run like the wind, and never come back. She had a feeling that he wouldn't miss her and would even gladly step out of the way for her if she ran like a scared chicken who was going to be sent to the slaughter house for someone's dinner that night. But of course that was a stupid idea – there was no way that dragon would let her out so easily.

She would have to be burnt to pieces by his dragon breath if she were to get out alive (or semi-alive).

He grunted, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. Her senses were heightened – if the dragon took a step towards her, she would dodge his claws that would grab her and dash towards the door. If the dragon started talking again, she would have to improvise. The girl ran her eyes across the room, looking for an object that she could throw at the dragon, thereby distracting the horrid monster, which would give her the chance to escape and save her life from living as a roasted chicken.

She could throw the pictures, although she probably shouldn't since the frames look ridiculously expensive. Who would spend that much on a _picture frame?_ Focusing back on the situation at hand, she took a deep breath, well aware of the fact that he was still behind her. So ignoring him and pretending that he wasn't there (option 1a) didn't work out. Well, there was only one thing left to do since he wasn't budging a bit from the door. She looked up, staring straight at the wall with newfound courage.

_All right Tenten. If you can't get out of this little thing, then what have you been living for all your life?_

Yes.

That's right.

There was always that third option.

"Oh, hey!" She chirped, turning around with a bright smile, as if she hadn't even seen him (technically, she hadn't) enter the room. "Didn't even see you there. Is this your room? Nice room you got here," she babbled on endlessly. "Although your walls look like they need a little splash of color. They look a little dead, if I may say so myself, although walls aren't exactly alive... but you know what I mean right? I would say, go for a yellow color. Yellow is a happy color, and god knows that you need some happiness in here with this dreary room. Or red! Red is a striking color. It'll leave a lasting impression on your guests!" She chirped along happily, inching closer and closer towards the door.

Which would mean she was inching closer and closer towards the human, fire breathing raging dragon himself. And once she realized that, she halted in her steps.

"Oh, _hey_! You don't look like a dragon at all!"

_Wait. That wasn't supposed to be out loud._

* * *

The last time she awoke to the blue sky, to the chirping birds, to the cold wind in the face, was after she fled for her life. It was funny how the same blue sky greeted her after her troubles, the same blue sky that waved hello with each passing cloud.

"Hi to you too," she murmured, lips curving up into a small smile.

Another cloud passed by.

"I'm safe again," she continued, as if the cloud that passed by was asking her how she was doing. "The cowardly peasant escaped the dragon unscathed."

Another cloud passed by.

"You're right. He didn't look like a dragon. He looks like the princess that got kidnapped by the dragon," she mused to herself, rubbing her chin. "Maybe the dragon ate the princess's soul and took over the body." She laughed at the incredulity of it, stretching her arms behind her head. "What do you think of that?" She looked up at the sky, waiting for its response.

There were no clouds.

"A princess," she muttered to herself. "A horrible, evil, fire-breathing princess." She thought back to the long hair he had, and she smiled to herself. "I bet he looks like Medusa when his hair gets tangled." She laughed at the silly idea, trying to imagine his expression as he tries to get the knots out of his hair.

"So sky," she said. "How do you think our fair maiden is doing right now? I bet he's sanitizing his room. He looks like the type to be sickening clean, washing his hands every hour."

There were no clouds.

She frowned to herself, sighing. "Not fun," she mumbled, closing her eyes to take a short nap. Maybe when she wakes up, there will be more clouds in the sky for her to have fun with.

"T-Tenten-san...?" There was a soft voice beside her.

Tenten cracked an eye open, to see a girl with those same eyes. She was really starting to feel out of place.

"Hi," Tenten said, sitting up from the bench that she was laying on. It had been barely five minutes since she closed her eyes for a nap and she was already being interrupted.

Five minutes.

That couldn't mean—

Oh dear. She hoped that the girl hadn't heard her talking to herself.

"I heard from F-Father that you were coming today," she said, smiling shyly at Tenten. "I went to your room but you weren't there," she said softly.

It was amazing that Tenten could even hear what she was saying.

"Oh. Yeah, sorry about that," Tenten said, smiling sheepishly. She paused a bit, realizing what the girl was saying. "Father? Hyuuga Hiashi is your father?"

"Y-Yes," the girl said shyly, keeping her eyes down on the floor. "I-It is surprising," she said, "I don't have the same presence as him. My name is Hyuuga Hinata," she mumbled, wringing her hands in front of her.

Tenten noticed the discomfort in the small girl's voice and decided to drop the subject. "Well Hinata," Tenten said, smiling at the girl. She was strangely adorable in the way she blushed shyly. "Did you need anything? Since you went to the trouble of finding me here."

"O-Oh!" Hinata looked back up at Tenten. "N-No, it wasn't anything important. I-I.. I just wanted to introduce myself... it is rare for someone outside the Hyuuga family to reside in the Manor," she explained, wringing her hands again. "S-Since you weren't in your room, I-I thought you'd be outside."

What a sweet girl.

"Well you found me," Tenten grinned back happily. "Shall we go back? Dinner is soon, isn't it?"

Hinata smiled softly, nodding. "Okay."

What an adorable, sweet girl. Her pearl eyes weren't intimidating at all. If anything, they softened her features and made her even cuter.

If only those eyes had the same effect on that fire breathing dragon.


	2. Nov 20 & 22, Mon & Wed

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

**Month One**  
_Day Two & Four  
_

* * *

**Chapter 2**—Hello

_Day Two_

School.

Everyone hated it.

No one liked it.

So why was it still here?

Tenten had yet to find out the answers, although one day, she would find it, and burn down all the schools. But of course, that was just her rash side talking. She wouldn't really burn down the schools—where would that put her then? It was too complicated to plan out, and even think about it, truthfully. Complication wasn't her thing.

So, without missing a beat, Hiashi had already transferred and enrolled her to the same school Hinata. It wasn't as bad as it seemed – she would finally have a friend in school, and she wouldn't have to deal with idiots from her old school. The only thing that she was rather peeved at was that the maid had to tell her that she was going to school at six in the morning when she was still half asleep.

And somehow she was able to get to school in one piece, freshly dressed and hair neatly combed, tied up in her two buns. How this happened without her knowing, she had no idea, but she'd rather not remember.

Ignorance was bliss.

She heard a cough from the teacher, which snapped her out of her thoughts. She cleared her throat as she smoothed down the uniform skirt.

"My name is Tenten."

That was as far as the introduction went. She wasn't in the mood to say what her likes were, her dislikes, her goals, her plans for the future and the likes. If she could, she wouldn't even have said anything at all, but the glare on the teacher's face told her to do otherwise.

She hated being put on the spot. She felt like she was a zoo animal, a painting, a sculpture, for an exhibition. It was even worse when people who she didn't know was staring at her. Not that she cared much about what they thought, but it felt like laser was coming out of everyone's eyes. There it was again – her paranoia. She really needed to get that checked out.

"Is that all?" Kihu-sensei asked, clearing not satisfied with the lacking introduction.

Tenten nodded, looking around the room. At least this room had mint walls. Mint was a lot better than white.

"Your seat will be next to Misaki-san. Misaki-san, would you please raise your hand?"

She spotted a hand raised in the air. She quickly walked towards the empty seat situated next to him, avoiding eye contact with the rest of her classmates. Her seat mate, Misaki greeted her with only a smile, his brown eyes crinkling up into a crescent shape. She smiled back at him, feeling a sense of comfort.

But that comfort was soon washed away when she felt that cold shiver up her spine.

It couldn't be.

Could it?

She turned her head to the side slowly, and she inwardly groaned when she caught sight of devil. Or rather, when she caught sight of the dragon.

She breathed out slowly, facing the front of the room. Practicing those techniques from the video she gave Maki (sure it was a gift – but it's not like Maki would ever find out that she used his gift before giving it to him), she calmed herself down.

He wouldn't be able to do anything to her in school. After all, there were too many people around. Someone would notice if she went missing.

She got this.

* * *

Tenten's stomach growled as she trudged through the crowd of students in front of the cafeteria. With each passing second, she could feel herself losing her patience as the line didn't even seem to be moving any closer near the front of the line. She couldn't take it – she had been hungry two periods ago, and she was hungry now.

She needed food. Fast.

She quickly maneuvered her way through the mass of students (a few protesting that she was cutting the line) and only stopped when she crashed into another student.

"S-Sorry!" A familiar meek voice cried out.

"Hinata," Tenten said, when she saw the girl's face. "Hey!" She cried out happily, feeling a sense of relief (although still hungry) when she saw a familiar face. "It was my fault. I wasn't paying attention."

A slight blush covered Hinata's face as she shook her head, indicating that Tenten didn't have to apologize for something like that. "W-Would you like to sit with my friends?" Hinata asked hesitantly, wondering if it was the right thing to do. After all, Tenten might have made some other friends – to that thought, Hinata slightly frowned to herself. "Y-You don't have to," Hinata quickly said when she saw the surprised look on Tenten's face. "I-I just thought that—"

"No, no," Tenten quickly cut in, seeing Hinata fumble with her words. "I would love to sit with your friends! I just need to get some food first though," she said, squinting into the sea of students who seemed to surge forward.

"I-I have an extra bento box," Hinata said, raising the two wrapped boxes in her hand. "You left before the maids could give you the lunch," she explained softly.

"Really?" Tenten was genuinely happy, much happier than she had been since the day started. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go meet your friends!" She linked arms with Hinata and managed to pull themselves out of the crowd.

They arrived shortly at a circular table, seated by two other girls: a brunette and a blonde. "Hey Hinata," the brunette greeted with a wave of her hand. She gazed curiously at the girl next to Hinata.

"This is Tenten," Hinata introduced.

"So you're the one Hinata was talking about," the blonde mused, playing around with her yogurt. "Yamanaka Ino," she introduced herself. She pointed to the other girl with her spork. "Akita Kairi."

"Howdy," Kairi greeted with a friendly smile before diving into her lunch.

"Don't mind her. She's a glutton," Ino said airily as she continued to snack on her yogurt.

Hinata sat down next to Kairi and Tenten followed the suit. She glanced at the other two and smiled to herself. She always wished she had a friend like that – one to argue with, one to laugh with, one to share secrets with. She was constantly moving around so she hadn't made any close friends – or rather, any friends at all.

"Glutton? A _glutton_? It's called eating healthy!" Kairi defended herself, sticking her spork in Ino's face. "Unlike someone who only eats yogurt for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I am getting my vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates. It might surprise you but eating is necessary for survival!"

Ino only scoffed.

"Do they always do this?" Tenten asked Hinata, who was unwrapping the bento boxes and handing one to Tenten.

She nodded timidly. "I-It takes a while for them to settle down after they argue..."

"Hey guys!" There was a sudden clang behind them. "Hey, watch where you're – oh. Sorry about that... uh, you uh, can have my lunch..."

Moments later, a sweaty blonde and a bored brunette came into view. Ino and Kairi took no notice of them and continued their banter while Hinata was staring at the sweaty blonde with a worried expression.

"N-Naruto-kun, are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Naruto answered, grinning at her to assure that he was fine. "I just didn't realize we had such... big guys in our grade level," he laughed sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. When he realized that Tenten was sitting next to Hinata, he smiled happily once again. "A new friend Hinata-chan?" He asked curiously, taking the seat next to her while the other sat down next to Ino.

"I'm telling you, yogurt is healthier than that oil you're inhaling!"

"I don't _inhale_, I merely enjoy my food at a fast pace."

"If food disappears in the five seconds, you are inhaling it."

"You know what? I'll inhale _you_—"

"Oh so you're into cannibalism now? How is _that_ healthy? See, unlike you and your carnivorous ways, I stick to my yogurt because—"

"You know where I would like to stick that yogurt? I would take it and stick it up—"

"K-Kairi-chan!" Hinata gasped.

"Only for Hinata I'll stop," Kairi glared at Ino.

Ino just glared back.

"N-Naruto-kun, this is Tenten," Hinata introduced. "T-Tenten, this is N-Naruto-kin and Shikamaru-kun."

Shikamaru only looked up at Tenten, nodding to her as a sign of his greeting. Naruto grinned happily at her, excited to make a new friend. Tenten smiled back at the two of them, feeling a bit lightheaded.

_Too many people. Too many names._

Not that she was complaining. In fact, she liked the fact that Hinata was introducing her to all her friends. It was just that she hadn't really had friends in the first place, so it was a bit awkward for her to interact with everyone. That, and the fact that there was still that cold feeling lingering in the back of her brain.

Pushing that thought aside, she tuned back in to the conversations.

"...then he had the audacity to _glare _at me! At _me_! Can you believe it?" Ino complained, waving her spork all around her. Kairi had luckily ducked when the spork was aimed in her direction, causing her to glare at Ino. That, of course, went unnoticed by Ino as she continued to rage with all her might. "This is inhumanly possible. How can _he _possibly do that to _me_? I mean look at me!" She cried out loud, still waving her spork dangerously in the air. "I'm beautiful!"

Kairi snorted and rolled her eyes. "I think the Uchiha should've done more than just glare at you. If anything, he should've punched you in the mouth so you wouldn't be able to talk."

Ino pursed her lips and glared at Kairi, who this time ignored the glare. "Sasuke-kun wouldn't dare hurt me. Besides, I was doing him a favor! I should have gotten a thank you instead of a glare. That ungrateful—"

Somewhat bored with the conversation since she didn't know who they were talking about, Tenten glanced at Naruto speaking over her with Hinata.

"Hinata-chan, are you going to eat that?"

"N-No, Naruto-kun, you can have it."

"Wah! Hinata-chan thank you so much! You're the best!"

Boring.

Tenten glanced over at Shikamaru, who seemed to be napping peacefully amidst the noise that everyone was making. She raised an eyebrow, wondering how that was even possible.

She needed to learn that technique, too.

"Shikamaru, stop sleeping," Ino commanded.

To her surprise, Shikamaru actually woke up.

He yawned, cracking an eye open. "What do you want?" He asked lazily, looking as if he would fall asleep at any second.

"We have to go," was all Ino said. "See you later guys!" She said, dragging Shikamaru with her against his will (or so it seemed).

"Thank god she's gone," Kairi said, letting out a breath of relief. "So Tenten. You haven't said a word since you came here," she said. Before Tenten could come up with a reply however, Kairi cut in. "I'll walk you to your next class! See you two later!" She grabbed Tenten, quickly speeding out of the cafeteria with Hinata stuttering behind them and Naruto's laughter echoing the cafeteria.

"What was that for?" Tenten asked, rubbing her wrist.

Kairi had a hard grip.

"Those lovebirds need some alone time," Kairi explained, standing on her tiptoes and peeking at the two. Hinata was blushing and Naruto was laughing. Awesome.

"Lovebirds? They're together?" Tenten wondered out loud, standing on her toes as well.

"Oh no," Kairi said. "No way in hell would that anal cousin of hers let that happen. But it's totally obvious that they like each other. I mean look at them!"

Tenten didn't understand – they didn't look like they liked each other. Hinata acted like she always did; blushiing profusely with the occasional twirl of the fingers. She didn't know how Naruto acted, but he seemed to be acting friendly.

Or was her definition of like different from Kairi's?

"Who's the anal cousin?" Tenten suddenly asked. If she was talking about anal then that must mean...

"Hyuuga Neji."

The fire breathing maiden eating dragon.

* * *

Cooking wasn't her forte.

And she had to find that out the hard way, with the brownies bursting into flames right in front of her eyes. It wasn't such a bad experience; in fact, it was somewhat exhilarating. Anko-sensei barely noticed that there was a fire going on in the middle of the room before she went crazy trying to put out the flames.

Tenten thought that Anko secretly enjoyed the experience as well.

"T-Tenten," Hinata greeted her afterschool. "Did you enjoy your first day?" She asked as she climbed into the car that came to pick them up.

Tenten followed her into the car while she thought of an answer. "It was... good," she managed to say, slightly unsatisfied. "Much better than my old school though," she said truthfully as she stretched out her arms. "But I can do without this much homework. How do you do this every day?" Tenten complained.

Hinata giggled. "I-It's only because you came in the middle of the semester," she said. "Y-You have to catch up to where everyone else is."

"That's true," Tenten said, looking around them. "So why isn't the car moving? What are we waiting for?"

"O-Oh, you don't know? We're w-waiting for—"

The door that Tenten had previously slammed shut was opened, interrupting Hinata. Tenten looked over curiously, and felt her stomach drop.

It couldn't be.

But it was.

"N-Neji-niisan," Hinata greeted, and he replied back with a nod. He however, refused to make eye contact with Tenten as he got into the car, seating himself next to her.

Not that there was much of a choice.

The car was silent once it started moving. It was painfully awkward for Tenten, seeing as though she was stuck between two options: either to talk, or not to talk.

Talking would mean that only Hinata would reply back. They would be the ones having the conversation in the car, and no matter how much better that seemed than not talking in the car, it still made her feel awkward. After all, she was the one intruding on their usual routine of going back home in the car. It would be rude to exclude one from a conversation.

Not that she wasn't one to be rude. In fact, she was the epitome of rude.

She just couldn't stand the silence.

"So Hinata tells me that you're her cousin," she started off brightly.

She might as well befriend the dragon. Who knows – maybe the dragon would turn into a... harmless lizard.

"Y-You haven't met?" Hinata asked curiously. "I-I thought you two were already acquainted by the way y-you two were acting during last night's dinner..."

"No, Hinata-sama. I would never be acquainted to someone of this caliber," was all that came in an icy tone.

_Someone of this caliber?_

Tenten frowned at that, and glared at him from the corner of her eyes. She wouldn't start anything – oh no, she couldn't start anything since they were in the car and there would be witnesses. She silently fumed to herself when the conversation stopped (Hinata knew when to drop a subject – Neji hadn't sounded too happy when she inquired about their relationship). It wasn't like the guy was a God. He had no right to talk about her like that, especially when she was sitting right next to him. In full earshot of the conversation. She was just trying to make amends to their off start!

And then he goes and insults her.

_Someone of this caliber._

She silently fumed as she narrowed her eyes in front of her.

_You should be honored to meet someone like me._

Hinata bit her lip as she watched Tenten silently fume to herself. She wondered what happened. Neji usually wasn't one to start something with someone, especially someone who her father had brought in. He was usually a bit kinder and polite.

She wondered what happened between the two of them.

She found her answer that night when Tenten suddenly barged into her room without knocking. Hinata had been putting away her finished homework and was getting ready for bed when the unannounced visitor groaned in annoyance.

"That good for nothing son of a—"

"T-Tenten!" Hinata interrupted, knowing fully well what word was going to come after that. No matter how often she had heard those types of words, she was already uncomfortable when someone around her said them. She was taught to never say those types of words, and now it was as if it was in her system to stop others from doing the same thing.

"Sorry Hinata," Tenten apologized as she slumped down beside the bed on the floor. "It's just that that dragon is so infuriating! I mean, I've been thinking about it ever since I got to my room, but _someone of this caliber_? Is he usually this judgmental?"

"A-Are you talking about Neji-niisan...?" Hinata asked, utterly confused by Tenten's use of the word dragon.

"Yeah, him," Tenten frowned to herself as she stared at the ceiling. "We did meet before, actually. That lying fire breathing dragon pretended we didn't. He found me in his room the other day when I was exploring," Tenten explained as she played with Hinata's bed sheets. "I mean, you can't get _that _angry if you find someone you don't know in your room..."

"You were in his room?" Hinata asked, surprised. "N-Neji-niisan doesn't let anyone into his room," she quietly explained. "T-The maids aren't even allowed to be in there."

Tenten frowned. "Well that was probably why he was so angry then," she muttered to herself. "I don't understand. Why is he so secretive about it?"

"I-It's a long story," Hinata said in an even softer voice. They were approaching dangerous waters now – Neji wouldn't have liked it if she talked about his past without his permission, especially to someone he obviously disliked. "I-It's getting late, we should get to bed..."

"I mean, did he have a horrible past where his girlfriend broke his heart and then fled the country? So in the end he decides to shut himself out and off from everybody else because he is mourning for her to return? So he goes and starves himself for years and years thinking that if he hurts himself physically the emotional pain wouldn't hurt that much? Is that what happened?" Tenten asked. When Hinata didn't answer, she laughed. "Yeah right. That only happens in books."

Hinata bit her lip. Tenten was oddly perceptive, even though she was just joking.

"Her name is Haruno Sakura," Hinata said.

_Sorry, Neji-niisan. Maybe telling Tenten would be a good thing. After all, you did acknowledge her by showing your dislike for her._

"She used to go to the same school as we do," Hinata continued.

"W-Wait," Tenten interrupted, her eyes widening. "So I was right? There really is an ex-girlfriend who broke his heart and now he's cold and antisocial?"

"W-Well he was always antisocial," Hinata said. "I-It's just that it got worse after she left." Hinata paused, not knowing how to continue the story. "T-They were happy. And in love. But she just suddenly disappeared one day..."

Tenten frowned, almost feeling sorry for the poor dragon. Maybe the reason why he breathes fire and bares his fangs every time was just to protect himself. She mentally scoffed at that. Now _that _was something to be sorry for – he couldn't even get over his ex-girlfriend. What kind of man was he? If he was going to sulk all this time after their breakup then so be it. She had nothing to do with it. Although.. she narrowed her eyes. She might be the puppet that he was taking out his anger on.

"Well, his past has nothing to do with me right?" Tenten said, suddenly bright and happy as she got off the floor. "At least now I know why he's so grouchy all the time. Thanks for telling me, Hinata." She headed towards the door but suddenly stopped. "Oh and if you're worried, I won't say a thing to him. Goodnight Hinata!" And with that, she walked out of the room, knowing that Hinata was probably staring after her back.

She quietly walked to her own room, lost in her thoughts. This really didn't have anything to do with her, and she knew not to intrude on his affairs.

Or intrude on anyone's affairs, actually.

It was better than getting emotionally involved with things that weren't meant for her to get involved in. She could see him being the type of guy who would glare and sneer and curse at with all his might (well, not literally) if she involved herself with his personal matters. She wasn't a saint. She wasn't even that nice actually. In fact, she wasn't nice at all, so she shouldn't (and wouldn't) involve herself with people like him.

Because people like him wouldn't be able to appreciate the kindness of others. She already knew that without befriending him (not that she ever would).

That's right.

Getting involved would only be trouble.

* * *

_Day Four_

The silence was driving her crazy.

If she thought that white walls were bad, then she hadn't lived long enough to realize that there were worse things than white walls. For example, silence. Tenten knew that the Hyuugas were quiet people—heck, everyone knew that they were quiet people. It was rather ironic, since their presence was anything but quiet.

In any case, the silence was driving her to insanity.

"Tenten-san, you have a phone call," a maid called, knocking on the bedroom door.

Finally.

Noise.

She took the phone from the maid, wondering who it could be. She hadn't given the number out to anyone. She herself didn't even know the number to the Hyuuga Manor. "Hello?" Tenten said cautiously, wondering if it was some kind of prank call from a random dork she shoved on the first day of school.

It was totally an accident.

_"Tenten? Tenten! I knew this was the right number."_

"Kairi?" Tenten said, letting out a breath she didn't know that she was holding. "Did you need something?" She jumped back on her bed, feeling a bit happy that she had a friend to talk to on the phone.

Yes.

She was quite pathetic.

_"I need your help. I'm throwing a surprise party for my brother."_

"...Good to know?" Tenten was unsure as to how that concerned her. If Kairi wanted her to plan the whole thing... well, Kairi was going to regret that choice. Tenten wasn't a great planner.

_"Ah, I would roll my eyes at you, but you can't see it. My brother is Misaki. He told me that he met you today."_

"Misaki?" Tenten rubbed her chin as she pondered on the name. A friendly, boyish face with a boyish smile popped up in her head. "Oh! Misaki! He's your brother? I don't see the similarity..."

_"I know. I'm much prettier."_

Tenten laughed. "So what do you need me to do?"

_"The party will be next week. We'll talk about it later with the others. Remember, not a word to him! I want to make this special for him, since you know, maybe he can finally treasure me and not annoy the fuck our of me like the other times and since you're coming and we all know that he has a huge crush on you, it'll make things even better! So remember—"_

"What? What was that?"

_"...What?"_

"You just said something about Misaki—"

_"What? What was that? I can't hear you that well Tenten. Maybe we'll talk later when this phone isn't acting up."_

"You said that Misaki—"

_"What mom? You need me to wash the dishes? Okay I'm coming! Sorry Tenten, the dishes to be washed. By me. I need to wash the dishes. ...yeah, see you!"_

And all that was left was the dial tone.

* * *

Compared to when she first arrived to the Manor, Tenten had gotten relatively comfortable. Sure, there were instances where she got lost multiple times, but other than that, she got the hang of the twists and turns and stairs.

Tenten hummed to herself as she got a cup. She poured herself some water, and headed for the stairs. She still had multiple homework assignments left unfinished, and she really didn't want to stay up till one in the morning finishing it, like she used to do.

However, it seemed like fate decided to play with her.

She stopped abruptly when she saw someone standing in front of her. She felt that cold chill up her spine, that same cold chill that would always appear whenever she saw him.

"...Hey, what's up dragon?"


	3. Nov 22 to 24, Wed to Fri

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

**Month One**  
_Day Four, Five & Six_

* * *

**Chapter 3**—Top Girl

_Day Four_

She knew that it was a rather lame attempt to start a conversation. However, she thought that he would just ignore her and continue his way down instead of standing there and staring at her like she had three heads. She wasn't the weird one. He was the one who was the dragon.

When she attempted to break the silence with another useless comment, he interrupted but glaring at her. Tenten gaped at him while he walked around her to get down the stairs.

That rude little—

"Neji! I've come to help you—Tenten? What are you doing here?" A voice that was strikingly similar to Naruto's voice filled the air.

Tenten was surprised. To think that Neji would have someone like Naruto over – it was mind blowing, actually. Who knew that someone as scary as that dragon could befriend someone as friendly as Naruto? It was most likely the other way around. She stared at Neji's stare.

Yes. Naruto was most likely the one who befriended the dragon.

But then, why in the world would Naruto want to be friends with that prick in the first place? He was cheerful, kind, friendly, talkative – the total opposite of the dragon who only seemed to know how to breathe fire at his enemies (and friends. She couldn't rule that possibility out).

"Tenten? Are you there?" Naruto waved a hand in front of Tenten's face. "Are you living with Neji?" Naruto pointed a finger at her, as if accusing her of something indecent.

Tenten's face quickly turned into disgust as she waved her hands in the way. "No! Ew! Of course not!" She paused. "Well actually yes I am, but no! Ew! Not in that sense! I'm just living here for a while," Tenten explained, still frowning and not knowing how Naruto had gotten that idea in the first place.

"What's taking you guys so long?" An irritated voice said.

Tenten awaited the newcomer while she heard Neji walk away silently. Which was odd, since he was walking away silently which meant that she shouldn't be hearing him at all... In any case, he walked away and Naruto was looking up the stairs as if he was anticipating someone.

And he was right.

In came a raven haired guy, with onyx eyes. He would have looked as intimidating as the Hyuugas (them and their pearl eyes...) if it weren't for one thing. She had to stop herself form cracking a smile and rolling down the stairs laughing her butt off.

His hair was styled like a chicken's.

So, in conclusion, the dragon had a friend who was a chicken.

Tenten stifled her laughter as she felt onyx eyes glaring at her. "What are you laughing at?" Came his murderous voice.

Tenten covered up her laughter with a cough. It turned out quite believable, as Naruto started patting Tenten's back. "I choked," she said, clearing her throat. "Sorry," she said, even though she had no idea why she apologized.

Chicken hair.

Hah.

"Sasuke-teme look what you made Tenten do," Naruto said accusingly.

"Me? She choked on her own stupidity," Sasuke said nonchalantly as his eyes trailed after Neji's back. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Hyuuga?"

"I have no stupidity to choke on," Tenten defended herself. She paused in her glare. That didn't make much sense...

"That proves my point," Sasuke said. He glanced at Naruto. "Well?"

Naruto frowned at Sasuke, muttering under his breath as he stalked after Neji. "Sasuke-teme I hope you choke on your stupidity too!"

Sasuke didn't bother replying back to the lame insult as he stared at Tenten. She frowned under his stare – what in the world did he think he was doing? Checking her out? She inwardly smiled to herself. Well he is a boy, and well, all boys have their hormones. He probably haven't had the chance to release himself since no girl would ever go near him with that sickening attitude that he calls his personality.

"He's still recovering from his breakup five months ago."

Tenten blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. "What?"

Sasuke didn't say anything but only smirked at her, as if he was having fun making her go around in circles.

"What are you talking about?" Tenten asked, truely confused. What's with the sudden talk about breaking up? Did he mistake her for someone else? Did that somehow accidentally slip out of his mouth as a ploy to arouse her curiosity so that she'll try to ask more about him, so that she'll try to get to know him and fall for him? Is that why he's acting arrogant and like a hotshot because he thinks that girls like that and they'll get turned on when they see that arrogant smirk?

She blinked again. She was going off on a tangent again.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said. She was not going to fall for his tricks.

"Really?" Sasuke looked like he didn't believe her. "Well, if you say so," was all he said before he disappeared from her sight.

Tenten only sighed.

Poor boy. He was probably sexually deprived.

* * *

_Day Five_

"I really don't see why he has so much hatred for you," Kairi said, reaching in to grab another chip from the bag. "Sure, you were in his room when you weren't supposed to be, but that hatred can only go on for so long right? I mean it's already been five days since you've been here."

"It's like you don't even know Neji at all," Ino said, rolling her eyes. She patted her face that was covered with a mask. "You know how someone like him holds a grudge."

"H-He'll take some time to get over it," Hinata assured Tenten. "Strawberry?" She offered Tenten one of the chocolate covered strawberries that the maid brought up a while ago.

Tenten gladly took one and sighed. "It doesn't bother me as much as it did before. He still reminds me of a dragon though."

Kairi laughed. "A dragon. That's funny; most girls in our school would call him a Prince," she said, eating another chip. "Although they don't really know that prick. He is far, _far _from a prince."

"Your idea of a prince is someone arriving at your house with pizza," Ino said, patting her face. She looked at Kairi in the eye. "Or in other words, the pizza delivery guy. Or any type of delivery guy."

"Hey," Kairi said in a dangerous voice. "You can't say that they're not better than any of the other guys here now," she said suddenly in a calm face, leaning back on the bean bag chair. "Besides. Food wins over guys any day."

"Only you would say that," Ino said, rolling her eyes. "Hinata, would you pass the cucumbers? My bags are getting bigger lately."

Tenten grabbed another strawberry from the bowl, lost in her thoughts as the others chatted. She didn't know why, but her thoughts always wandered back to Neji and Sakura. Poor boy. It was only five months since their breakup. Of course he'd be grouchy.

Oh no.

She had already started to sympathize with him.

She shook her head, plopping another strawberry in her mouth. She felt like a black hole – all this food was going somewhere in her body, but she didn't feel full at all. Hm. Weird.

In any case, she already knew that Sasuke wasn't sexually deprived and that the five months he was talking about obviously referred back to the dragon (Neji. Neji. She had to remember to start using his name now. Letting it slip out in a conversation would not do her any good). She was merely having fun at his own expense (although he didn't know it).

She amused herself that way.

She ate another strawberry as she stared at Ino's mask. Was it really necessary? She didn't understand the female necessities that one needed. Taking care of skin, hair, nails, clothes... that all seemed to be so foreign to her. She'd rather much laze around in comfortable clothes without any make and hair loosely tied up. Comfort over beauty was always what she stood by and she wasn't going to let that change soon. Especially when she had a friend like Ino now – she felt like she was going to be experimented on.

"Tenten!" Ino cried out, frowning at the fact that only three strawberries were left in the bowl.

"...Oops," Tenten said, giving her an apologetic smile. "I didn't realize that I was eating that much." She pushed the bowl away from her, letting out an awkward laugh. "They're good though!"

"Anyways," Kairi said, waving that matter off. "What were you thinking about that made you finish almost all of the strawberries? You had this blank look on your face, like Ino's face during math class."

Ino rolled her eyes, not bothering to reply back.

"Just... wondering about stuff," Tenten said, reaching for the bowl of grapes. "Sasuke is sexually deprived isn't he?"

Kairi choked on the piece of chip she was eating, Ino dropped a piece of cucumber she was eating and Hinata started blushing like crazy. Tenten smiled innocently at them, finding joy in their reactions towards her joke.

This was so amusing.

"T-Tenten, I-I don't t-think that S-Sasuke-kun—"

"I was joking Hinata," Tenten laughed at the girl's shyness. "I wouldn't know if he was sexually deprived or not."

Hinata was still blushing, even though she understood Tenten's playfulness. "I-I-I'll get some more s-strawberries," she said, standing up quickly with the bowl in hand. Tenten opened her mouth to say something, but Hinata already rushed out the doors.

Did she scare her?

Kairi finally cleared her throat from the chip she was eating. "You almost killed me with that joke of yours," Kairi complained, as she continued to eat her chips. "You couldn't have waited until I swallow?"

"What's the point of waiting? You're shoving another one down your throat before you've even swallowed the first one," Ino stated, continuing to eat her cucumbers like nothing happened.

"Well Ms. Perfect, I hope those cucumbers on your eyes burn a hole through your eyelids."

"Silly Kairi. Unlike someone, I didn't fail chemistry so I would know that cucumbers would not burn through my – OW KAIRI WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?"

"Sorry. Was that your hand that I stepped on?"

Ino angrily whipped her head to face Kairi, causing the cucumbers to fall off her face. "You know what I'd like to step on?"

"What?" Kairi tauntingly asked.

"Guys," Tenten said, not knowing how to break up their argument. "Let's not fight," she settled for the cliché line.

And it seemed to work wonders.

"So why were you thinking about Sasuke, Tenten?" Kairi asked curiously. "Did you fall in love with him after you were talking to him on the stairs? Did you realize that he was the man of your dreams just the delivery guys are the men of my dreams?"

"What? What gave you that idea?"

Kairi shrugged. "Just throwing that out there."

"I'd like to throw you out somewhere," Ino muttered to herself as she took new cucumber pieces to put on her eyes.

"I was just thinking about Neji," Tenten cut in quickly.

Wow.

That was the first time she actually said his name.

"Neji?" Ino's interest perked up. "Why were you thinking about Neji? Is there something you want to tell is? Something... something _interesting_?"

"Ino, please don't talk in that tone of voice when you have cucumbers for eyes," Kairi said in a flat tone. "Anyways," Kairi said quickly, before Ino could say anything else. "Why were you thinking about Neji then? Did Sasuke not suit your taste?"

"Just because I was thinking about him doesn't mean that I like him," Tenten said. She spotted Hinata walking in with a full bowl of chocolate covered strawberries and she suddenly brightened up. "Welcome back Hinata! We missed you."

"You're not getting out of this so fast," Ino said, wagging a finger in Tenten's direction although it was a bit off, seeing as though she couldn't see through the cucumbers.

"Now tell us. Why were you thinking about Neji?" Kairi asked, eyeing Tenten.

"Y-You were thinking about N-Neji-niisan?" Hinata asked.

"Not you too Hinata," Tenten groaned. "Fine. I just thought that it was sad for him to still be sulking over his ex-girlfriend when it has already been five months."

"You're being too hard on him," Kairi suddenly said, defending Neji. "Not that I like the guy that much but he isn't wrong for sulking all he wants. We were all sad when she left."

"Why did she leave?" Curiosity got the better of her.

And she told herself that she wasn't going to get involved, either.

"She just packed up and left without a word," Ino said. "She didn't even say anything to _me_! Can you believe it? I wasted six years of my life on her and she had the nerve to just pack up and leave without saying anything. You'd think that a nerd like that would appreciate friends a bit more."

"S-She left on a bitter note," Hinata told Tenten softly. "T-They had an argument the night before."

"It was not an argument. I was just telling her how I felt."

"She did have the tendency to neglect others when she was with Neji," Kairi mused, scratching her elbow. "I don't blame her though. If I had a boyfriend I wouldn't be around you freaks all the time. Not you, Hinata. I'd take you along with me."

Ino scoffed and Hinata blushed.

"So it's just one whole big mystery on why she left?" Tenten asked curiously. Sure, she wasn't too keen on the fact that this girl was the dragon's ex-girlfriend, but other than that, the whole quandary was pretty interesting. A girl who was madly in love with a boy and had the greatest friends she could ever have, just pack up and suddenly leave... it couldn't be for no reason. There had to be more to the story than just this. "Are you sure she didn't leave a note or something mysterious behind her?"

"We've searched," Ino said, heading towards the bathroom to take off her mask. "This thing isn't supposed to be itchy, is it?"

Kairi laughed at Ino. "Oh no Ino. If it's itchy it means it's working."

"T-There wasn't anything that she left behind," Hinata told her.

"Maybe she died—"

"NO!" Ino's horrendous screech echoed in the room all the way from the bathroom. "MY FACE!"

"No she didn't die," Kairi scoffed at the idea. "It wouldn't be such a big mystery if she did!"

"Just throwing an option out there," Tenten said distractedly, staring at the bathroom. She wondered how Ino was faring with her face.

She was probably allergic to the mask that she put on.

"So she just disappeared without a trace," Tenten repeated to herself. "Doesn't that mean she didn't really break up with Neji? Wouldn't that mean that they're still together? So wouldn't that mean he's being stringed along, not knowing where his girlfriend is and what she is doing and if she's off with another guy?"

"S-Sakura-chan wouldn't cheat on N-Neji-niisan," Hinata said quickly, knowing her friend's loyalty.

"We just assumed they broke up since you know, she's not even here anymore," Kairi explained. "What's the point of having a relationship when you don't even know where your girlfriend is?"

"But true love conquers all! She'll come back one day and the whole misunderstanding will clear up and they'll live happily ever together!" Tenten said vehemently. She smiled sheepishly at the two, ignoring Ino's cries of pain and torture. "Or so it said in that novel I was reading last night."

"Oh, she did call me once," Kairi spoke up, her eyebrows furrowing. "I can't really remember when. It's a hazy kind of memory... I think it was that night I got drink from Misaki's party," Kairi sighed, scratching her head.

If Ino were here to hear the conversation, she'd probably freak out.

But then again, she was already freaking out in the bathroom about her face.

"D-Do you remember anything?" Hinata asked worriedly. "D-Did she say anything about why she left?"

Kairi sighed and shrugged. "I can't really remember anything. Answering the phone when you're drunk is not the best idea to do," she said, waving a finger around at the two as if she was teaching them a lesson. "In fact, you should not be getting drunk at all. We're all underage. It is not fun."

They heard whimpers from the bathroom and then there was another cry.

"Poor Ino," was all Kairi said.

They were all thinking that in their minds.

* * *

_Day Six_

"I should've ditched school today with Ino," Kairi mused as she kicked a rock in the ground. "It felt like I only slept for two hours!"

"We did only sleep for two hours," Tenten said tiredly as she rubbed her eyes. "Ino's crying kept us up all night."

"W-We should stop by the pharmacy to g-get her some ointment," Hinata suggested as they stopped at the lockers to switch their shoes. "I-I feel bad for her..." She mumbled, slamming her locker shut softly as she fixed her shoes.

"It's not your fault Hinata," Kairi said, yawning. "She's the idiot who didn't read the ingredients before using that mask."

Tenten laughed before turning towards them. "Well, I'll see you later," she said, and Kairi nodded back at her. She turned back around and walked slowly to her classroom, enjoying the quietness of the empty hallways. They arrived earlier than usual after sending Ino home (she refused to go out by herself in daylight, so she insisted walking at 5 am back home where no one could see her face).

She arrived shortly at her empty classroom. This was great – that would mean she could take a nap and no one would disturb her. As she sat at her desk and closed her eyes, her thoughts wandered over to the Hyuuga and his girlfriend _again_.

For some reason, every time she closed her eyes, she always thought about his sad love story. It was so compelling, so interesting... she felt like she opened up a new novel to read and there was no ending at all for this wondrous book.

But she wasn't going to go and meddle into the affairs of another just because she found it interesting. No—she wasn't going to do that. It was against her beliefs (if she had any to begin with). Meddling only brought troublesome things into the picture and she couldn't risk getting distracted from finding a job and apartment to move out.

She sighed inwardly to herself.

Right.

She needed to find a job and apartment, fast.

Meddling into the affairs of the Hyuuga dragon would not do her any good. And what if she started to actually... _like _him after all her meddling? Wouldn't that be even worse? Getting tangled into a troublesome triangle (it was still a triangle, even though the other girl wasn't here) was even worse. It was too complicated, and Tenten hated complicated things. If anything she'd rather not have any contact with him at all, so that she wouldn't be tempted to stick her nose into places where it didn't belong.

But... solving that mystery disappearance was so damn _interesting_!

She had always wanted to be part of the CIA.

"Someone's early," a voice brought her out of her thoughts as she heard the chair next to her clatter, indicating that someone was pulling the chair out and sitting down. "Are you that excited about school?"

"Hey Misaki," Tenten said, picking up her head on the desk and yawning.

"You look bad," he commented bluntly, raising a brow at her appearance.

"Thanks," Tenten deadpanned. That bluntness really was similar to Kairi's. No wonder they were siblings. "I had a rough night."

"That's what she said."

Tenten made a face at Misaki, but he only laughed at her reaction. "So last night was bad? I feel you. I have to live with that monster."

"Kairi wasn't the one causing the trouble," Tenten sighed to herself as she stared at the chalkboard in the front of the classroom. "Ino was hysterical last night."

"Ah, the blonde one," Misaki nodded to himself. "She looks like the drama queen."

"You have no idea..." Tenten mumbled, yawning once again.

"Oh crap!" Misaki suddenly exclaimed as he stood up in his seat. "I forgot that Kihu-sensei asked me to run off some copies. See you later, Tenten!" He yelled, running out of the classroom.

Tenten had found out a few days that Misaki had in fact, been failing Kihu's class. This only made him the target of small classroom duties like running off copies, cleaning up the classroom after class ended and taking care of the various plants that were stationed around the room. Kihu had an odd interest in plants – there was a small cactus growing on her desk.

She heard soft footsteps approaching the room. Thinking that it was Misaki, she smiled at the door, ready to tease him when he came in.

To her surprise, it was none other than the dragon who came in.

He pointedly ignored her bright smile and walked stiffly to his seat, which was right next to hers. She frowned to herself when he was seated. She wasn't feeling that embarrassed that she smiled at the wrong person. In fact, she was feeling a bit peeved at the fact that she was ignored.

Not that it mattered that much, anyways.

She turned her head, staring at the boy next to her. He was staring straight ahead towards the front of the room. From this point of view, he didn't even look that scary. Did spending a few days with him make him lose that scary demeanor that he originally had? Tenten frowned to herself as she continued to stare at him, analyzing his features. The dragon wasn't that scary anymore.

Neji wasn't that scary anymore.

"It is rude to stare," came his rough voice.

He made no eye contact with her when he said that, but Tenten felt like he was shooting lasers at her. Well okay, maybe he was still a little bit scary, but it wasn't as bad as before. Knowing that he did this to everyone, she felt a sense of comfort. "What kind of shampoo do you use?" She questioned randomly.

She had a knack for bullshitting.

"I do not appreciate being stared at with those eyes of yours," was all he said as he continued to stare at the front of the room.

"Well, what other eyes can I stare at you with?" Tenten laughed.

He finally turned his head towards her, giving her a glare.

"Sorry about being in your room," Tenten started off as she also stared at the front of the classroom. "I was you know, a bit lost and that room was, you know, half open and I was curious as to what was inside... I mean, I was a bit scared to open the other doors of the other rooms because what if someone was inside? Then that would be really awkward, especially since I'm not a Hyuuga, so if I opened the door that would be. Uhm. Humiliating. But then the door to your room was open, so I thought, hey why not! It's not like I was going to steal anything. I just wanted to take a look around to see if all the other rooms was as dreary as mine – which got me thinking, do you want to paint your room? I think red would be a nice color because it's just—"

"No."

Tenten blinked. "No what?"

"No, I would not like to paint my room red."

It took her a while to digest his answer. She suddenly brightened up when she realized that he had actually been listening to her and not tuning her out like she thought. "So how about green? Yellow? Blue? Or even rainbow?"

There was no answer from him.

"I would paint the room but Maki scolded me last time I did that," she frowned to herself. "But I mean, red is not that bad of a color! It actually looks quite pretty when you carefully paint your walls. Other people play paintball and let me tell you, that is _not _a good way to paint a wall."

"I would think that would be how you would paint the wall," came his reply.

"...why actually, I did! Only once," Tenten said with a smile.

And her promise of not getting involved was indeed, broken.

* * *

The rest of the periods passed by rather quickly for Tenten. She kept thinking back to her conversation with Neji – when he wasn't being a dragon, he was actually fun to talk to. His rare, one sentenced replies were amusing to listen to. Her eyes started to droop as she listened to Kakashi's wondrous teachings of imagery. Sleep was about to take over when she noticed a white piece of paper dropping on her desk. She glanced at it curiously before opening it up.

_**Rooftop. Lunch.**_

There was no indication of who sent it. She looked around the classroom curiously, but no one was staring back at her. She pondered to herself. What if this was a confession? What if after all these days, she had actually caught someone's eye and he wanted her to be his girlfriend?

She smiled to herself. That would be great if that happened, but she doubted it. The message was scrawled on sloppily, and this person hadn't even bothered to write in full sentences.

And yet, knowing all this, she still felt an odd sense of exhilaration.


	4. Nov 24 & 25, Fri & Sat

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

**Month One**  
_Day Six & Seven_

* * *

**Chapter 4**—Wanna B

Tenten wouldn't call herself smart. No, she was no where near the term smart but she wouldn't call herself dumb either. She was in-between, in the middle, not too smart and not too dumb. It almost formed a sandwich around her.

But in all her years of living she had never imagined that someone like _him _would be calling her out to the rooftop to talk to her.

Or confess.

Whichever floated his boat.

"Well this is weird," she commented truthfully as she stood a few feet away from the Uchiha himself.

She felt utterly awkward and out of place. Sasuke didn't make it any better, by staring at her with those onyx eyes of his. She paled slightly – it couldn't be one of those scenes in those dramas, where the guy calls the girl to the rooftop to confess his love and they make out in the end, could it?

Tenten shook her head. She should stop watching those dramas.

"I need your help."

Oh? What was this? The almighty Uchiha asking her for help? Now that was weird, indeed.

"What kind of help?" She asked curiously. She wondered what it could be that would make the Uchiha lower himself and ask someone else for help. She had heard stories of him, and one of the stories was that he would rather strangle a person than ask someone for help.

So what was it that made him lower himself?

"It's about Haruno."

Haruno?

"Haruno?" She echoed her thoughts. "Who is Haruno?" She wondered out loud, not understanding.

He only glared at her.

"I'm not psychic, how am I supposed to know who you're talking about—oh. You mean Neji's ex-girlfriend?" Tenten asked, wondering what he needed with his friend's ex-girlfriend.

Unless that meant...

"You like her?" Tenten asked in disbelief. "Isn't this against your code? Your honor? Aren't you not supposed to go after your friend's exes if they've broken up? Aren't you violating your friendship?"

"What in the world are you talking about," Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the girl, a bit peeved that she was accusing him of even _liking _the pinkette.

"What? I'm not right?" Tenten frowned. "Then why would you even ask about her?"

"That's not for you to know," he said. "In return for your cooperation, I will give you compensation for each piece of information you bring me."

"...Compensation?" Tenten perked up at that word. "Like... money? Are you this desperate for information? Why don't you just ask Neji yourself? Aren't you two friends?"

"Is that a no?"

"No!" She quickly exclaimed. "I'll..." She thought about it. She would pretty much be doing his dirty work, crawling around and trying to find information about this girl. On the other hand... the money did tempt her. Hey, if she was going to be moving out of the Hyuuga Manor, she might as well take any cash she can, right? "What do you want to know about her? I mean, wasn't she your friend too?"

The air was a bit tense when that sentence left her mouth. Sasuke looked a bit grim, and Tenten raised a brow at his reaction.

Well that was interesting.

"You just need to be with Hyuuga and find out what happened to her."

"Be with _that dragon_?" Tenten was horrified at his request. Sure, she could go be with him in the car rides to and from school, but she couldn't exactly willingly spend time with him for anything other than that. "If you hadn't noticed, we aren't exactly on friendly terms with each other – if I try to act all friendly with him now it'll be suspicious!"

"Now that is something you have to figure out yourself, isn't it?" He said in a flat tone as he leaned against the fence. "I'm not asking you to dig into everything that they did together. You just need to find out what happened around the time she left."

"Well that's kind of hard since I wasn't there and I don't know what exactly happened," Tenten grumbled to herself. "I still don't understand why you need _me _to do this. Wouldn't Ino be a better option? Kairi? Hinata, even? I'm clueless in this situation."

"You need money don't you? You need to find an apartment soon."

"...Have you been stalking me?"

"I know what I know." He cleared his throat and stared at Tenten in the eyes to make sure that she was listening to him. "You don't need to report everything to me. Only the things you find odd and out of place." He narrowed his eyes at her. "I trust you know when things are odd, even though you're not that bright."

It was Tenten's turn to glare at the boy. "If I'm not that bright then why bother asking me to do this job you arrogant son of a—"

"Then it is settled. I'll talk to you again in the future. I trust that you'll be fast with the information."

Tenten gaped after his retreating body. That was it? He wanted to meet her to have a business proposition? What was she, a tool? Tenten pursed her lips as she glared at his back that was disappearing from her view. She was irritated, not only at the fact that she had been blatantly lowered to scrounging around for information, but also at the fact that she forgot her lunch again and couldn't buy it in the cafeteria since everything was most likely sold out already.

She was definitely going to eat chicken later and pretend that she was biting his head off.

* * *

"Sorry guys! Orochimaru-sensei held me late!" Kairi yelled, running to the group of friends near the fence. They all stopped chattering in their own conversation as Kairi caught up with them. She panted a bit before continuing her explanation. "I am proud to announce that the curse is fake and that I did _not _turn into stone even though I was staring at his eyes for more than 10 minutes," she said proudly, although a bit red in the face from running.

"Are you sure you're not confusing that for Medusa?" Tenten asked.

"Oh no," Kairi shook her head. "Not at all." She looked around curiously, noticing that only Tenten, Hinata and Ino were waiting for her. "Where are the guys?"

"They left a while ago," Tenten answered, pointing outside the gates. "Naruto complained that you were taking too long and Shikamaru got fed up that his yelling was disrupting his nap so they went ahead to calm Naruto's stomach down. Neji and Sasuke went with them."

"Oh you're on a first name basis with him now, aren't you," Ino teased. "Where did your cute little pet name for him go?"

"Pet name?" Tenten repeated blankly. "Dragon is a cute little pet name for that ferocious monster breathing creature?"

"L-Let's hurry and meet up with them," Hinata immediately interrupted. "W-We shouldn't make them wait any longer..."

"Hinata's right. You guys stop your silly little argument," Kairi said, linking arms with Hinata as she led the way.

"Silly little argument?" Ino repeated.

Tenten could feel another argument coming along.

Before Ino could erupt like a volcano however, Kairi complained about her meeting with Orochimaru. "Can you believe it? That snake said I was _failing_. I am not failing! He failed me on purpose just because I accidentally caught him cuddling with a snake in the animal room. I didn't even _tell _anyone and there he goes, failing me because he claims that I 'deserve it'," Kairi frowned as she made air quotes. "I mean, I haven't been doing that badly in his class as I have been doing in my other classes."

"S-Sensei was cuddling with a snake?" Hinata repeated.

Ino snorted. "What a freak."

"That's what I was thinking! But no, instead I was being kind and turned a blind eye on him by pretending to trip over the garbage can by the door. And you know how he repays my kindness? By giving me detention for unauthorized trespassing into a room that was off limits!" Kairi fumed.

"Cuddling with a snake..." Tenten mumbled to herself.

She once cuddled with a dog. It wasn't her dog, but she had cuddled with him anyways. It was a nice feeling – soft fur albeit the wet drool that was coming from the dog's mouth.

She could only imagine the scales that could have been felt from cuddling a snake.

"How he ended up as a teacher, I don't even want to know," Kairi continued on her rant. "He's better off as a zoo keeper. He can cuddle with all the snakes that he wants."

"Wouldn't that be the life?" Tenten mused as she kicked a rock next to her foot.

"Well, I'm sure he would have been much happier there than here. I know I would be if he hadn't ever shown up here to teach," Ino said. "There's something about him that just freaks me out."

"S-Sensei isn't t-that bad," Hinata said softly. "H-He's just.. different."

"Hinata, you're only saying that because he somehow favored you over the others. You were the only one who passed his tests," Ino pouted. "Not that I pass most of my exams, but the failure rate was still high."

"Well maybe she's just smart," Tenten piped up. She furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed something about their surroundings. "Uh, Kairi, do you know where you're going?"

Without even realizing it, they had walked far from civilization. There were only around two, three people walking across the streets, and within minutes they were already disappearing. It didn't look like the ideal neighborhood for a cafe to be in – or any type of restaurant, really.

It was official.

They were lost.

* * *

"You don't think they got lost, do you?"

"The possibility of that happening is quite high," Shikamaru said, leafing through the menu. "Kiba, can I nap in the employee's room?"

The previous boy who spoke before raised his eyebrow. "Sorry Shika. My manager will kill me if he finds you sleeping in there one more time. I got my pay check halved last time you did that!"

"This is so good!" Came Naruto's cry, who was sitting in front of Shikamaru. "Kiba, what is this? Eh? What is this? It's so... GOOD!"

Shikamaru stared at Naruto, and then stared at Kiba. "You had to give him the mocha cake, didn't you?"

Kiba only shrugged.

"So troublesome..." Shikamaru sighed, putting his head down and trying to nap with Naruto's constant yammering in the background. "Wake me up when they get here," he called out to Kiba. "On second thought, never mind. Don't wake me up at all."

"Whatever floats your boat," Kiba said. "Hey Shino, what time is it?"

Said boy glanced at the clock. "4:30," he answered monotonously as he picked up the plates on the next table.

"Should I go find them?" Kiba wondered out loud as he scratched his chin. "Knowing Kairi she'd probably lead them in the opposite direction..."

"One of us should have stayed behind," Sasuke commented irritably as he glared at Naruto gobbling down the cake next to him. He shot the boy a look of disgust. "Did your ramen supply run out?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

Naruto paused in his chewing, staring at Sasuke with big eyes. "How did you know that?"

Sasuke only rolled his eyes.

"This is ridiculous," Neji said as he crossed his arms.

"Kiba! Bring me another one of these!" Naruto exclaimed, waving the empty plate in the air. Sasuke opened his mouth to yell at him for letting crumbs fly everywhere, but he was soon interrupted by the jingling bell that indicated the door was opening.

"I can't believe you got us lost," came Ino's irritated voice. "Do you know how late you made us? You better hurry this stupid meeting up or else I'll miss my appointment at five!"

"Oh stop crying," came Kairi's just as irritated voice. "If you hadn't distracted me then we wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place."

"_Me_? You were the one who kept talking about Orochimaru and his weird snake fetish! If you had taken one look around you then you would've realized that you were going the wrong way but _no_, you couldn't shut that stupid mouth of yours for one second you—"

"Stop screeching Ino," Shikamaru complained, picking his head up from the table. "It's bad enough that you're late but to come in screaming..." He sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

"You're scaring away my customers," Kiba said, throwing her a glare over his shoulder as he jotted down the order of the couple.

"Why am _I _getting blamed when _she _was the one who—"

"Okay, so we're all here right?" Kairi cut in, standing in front of the table that the guys were sitting in. "Okay, great, so I wanted you guys here so we can distribute who buys what and how many of each."

"...you called us here for that?" Ino deadpanned as if she couldn't believe the girl. "You couldn't have given that to us over e-mail, over texting, _or even at school? _You had us come here while getting us lost for _this_?"

Naruto stared curiously at her, chewing on his piece of cake (his fourth serving, after rapidly inhaling the first three much to Sasuke's distaste since a few crumbs had gotten on his shirt without him noticing anything). He knew better than to provoke the enraged Ino anymore than she was now. Hinata frowned, twiddling her thumbs, wondering what she should do to calm Ino down. If she interrupted her, Ino might be more angry, but if she didn't, then they would all have to fear the wrath of an angry Ino...

Sasuke glared at the girl with annoyance, wondering what he had ever done to deserve this torture. First, Kakashi had given him a 99 on his test, blatantly not giving him an answer when he asked why he hadn't gotten 100 when it was clear that he had all the answers right on the test. Second, Naruto, (that stupid dobe, Sasuke added in his mind) had gotten him crumbs on his shirt that he had washed the night before (Naruto had stained it that time as well, from _orange juice that he couldn't keep in his mouth_). Third, this girl would not take a break in screeching what he already knew was the cause of all this.

If it weren't for Neji who was suffering like he was, he would've shoved Naruto out of the way and gone home an hour ago.

"Calm down," Kairi said irritably.

Which wasn't good.

"Calm down? _Calm, down? _You're telling _me, _me, out of all people _to calm down_?" Ino shrieked wildly. "I am calm," she added a few seconds later.

"Please refrain yourself from screaming anymore. If you do we will have to ask you to leave," Shino said as he pushed up his sunglasses that was slipping on the bridge of his nose. He walked away to take care of another order while Ino gaped after him.

Tenten only sighed to herself as she leaned against the back of the chair that Shikamaru was sitting on. She still didn't know why she hung around Ino – she was getting tired of her dramatic screams, shrieks, and well... just her overly dramatic reactions to the simplest things. Granted, she wasn't very happy when she found out that Kairi had gotten them lost (although she somehow knew deep inside that Kairi had no idea where she was going in the first place) but she hadn't burst out screaming in the middle of nowhere like Ino did.

But Ino did say what Tenten had been thinking to herself at that time.

"Well, it's not like I want to stay here anyways," Ino huffed as she checked her cell phone. "Tell me what you've decided later," she directed to Kairi with a hint of annoyance. "I have a shift to cover for one of my mom's sick employees. Thanks to _someone_, I'm already late as it is." She turned without a goodbye and hurriedly exited the shop.

There was an awkward silence the spread among the rest of them.

"I have an appointment I need to attend to, as well," Neji suddenly said, getting up from his seat.

No one made a move to stop him as he walked towards the door. Tenten had gotten a glimpse of his face, and she inwardly gulped. The dragon facade was back, and this time he seemed angrier than usual. The expression on his face almost seemed to say _'this is a complete waste of my time. I have more important things to do than to sit around and wait for a bunch of girls to show up and tell us what to do.'_

Tenten almost smiled to herself. She had decoded the un-decodable dragon.

Sasuke on the other hand, frowned. If Neji left then that would he... would be the only one suffering this unexplainable torture. He had to leave, too. Without even announcing where he was heading to, he only stood up and followed the Hyuuga's steps towards the door.

The others hadn't bothered to stop him.

"I-I think I need to get back soon too," Hinata said suddenly. "F-Father would be expecting me home soon..."

"Right! So, anyways, here are your respective lists," Kairi said, digging through her bag to bring out crumpled pieces of paper. "...sorry about that."

Tenten paid no attention to it as she opened it up and smoothed it out with her hands. Streamers, balloons, party hats...

"Party hats?" She wondered out loud, raising a brow at that.

"Yes! They are a necessity," Kairi stated as if it was obvious.

"Kiba! Another cake!" Naruto shouted, paying no attention to the crumpled piece of paper that laid there next to his empty plate. If he wasn't careful, he would have eaten that as well.

"Naruto, you're finishing up our supply of cakes," Kiba complained from the back room. "Don't you want a cookie or something?"

"Cookie?" Naruto blinked. "Okay sure! Throw that in with the cake!"

Kiba could only sigh.

* * *

_Day Seven_

Tenten woke up to the banging on her door.

She could only groan as she took the pillow and covered her face with it. In short, she was not a morning person. At all. For the past week she had been barely able to get up on time to go to school (maids were an amazing thing to have. If only she could somehow kidnap one or two for when she had to move out...) and for her to wake up willingly... it was not possible.

So the banging continued and her groans continued as well.

"What?" Tenten finally gave up. The banging ceased, as she let out a breath of relief.

Insane banging only drove her crazy.

"Hurry up and get dressed."

What?

What was this?

Tenten raised a brow.

The dragon was coming to wake her up?

Now that was something to wake up for.

"Is that you Neji?" Tenten questioned anyways. "You're coming to wake me up?" The wonder and surprise in her voice was evident as Neji refrained himself from rolling his eyes (although he could if he wanted to, since he was after all, in front of a door).

"Yes. Now if you could do us all a favor and get dressed, we wouldn't have to face Yamanaka and her screaming again."

"Ino's here too?" Tenten asked curiously as she quickly got up from bed and attacking her closet (not that she had that many clothes in the first place).

"After brutally forcing her way in through the maids, yes," he said. "Are you done?" He asked impatiently.

"Almost!" Tenten cried as she ran towards the bathroom that her room was connected to.

As much as she loved to sleep, she hated Ino's screaming more. She shuddered as she thought backs to the events of the day before. She had barely been able to sleep without hearing the echoes of Ino's enraged shrieks that seemed to bounce off the bedroom walls.

If she could do anything to stop Ino from screaming, she would gladly give up some of her sleep.

"Done!" Tenten cried, throwing her doors open, only to find that there was no dragon behind them. She looked around, a bit confused as she walked towards the stairs that took her to the main entrance. She frowned when she saw him waiting down at the stairs for her, along with the rest of the group.

Of course.

Why would he wait for her in the first place?

Stupid dragon.

"There you are Tenten," Kairi said with her arms crossed. "You were even harder to wake up than Shikamaru. It's amazing that Neji could get you up."

Tenten could only smile at Kairi, not knowing whether to find that as a compliment or an insult.

Soon enough, the group found themselves in front of a rather small, but still bustling mall. "Okay, since I already gave you guys your lists, we can start shopping. We can meet back in around three hours," Kairi said staring at her phone before looking up and grinning. "Oh, this is going to be so fun!" She cried, skipping off to a store on her right.

The rest of them broke off in pairs (except for Sasuke who had somehow already disappeared). Naruto chatted happily while Hinata could only blush as they walked around the mall and Neji followed closely behind (although not so close to be identified as a stalker). Tenten frowned and could only follow Neji to make sure that he wouldn't do anything to a harmless Naruto. Ino pulled Shikamaru off the bench that he was dozing off on to buy a present while he only complained about the troublesome qualities of a girl and her endless hours of shopping.

And that was how the shopping began.

* * *

**Edit: 8/28/2011**

I really should have edited everything before posting it up. Ahah. Oh wells...

So if any of you guys were wondering, I'm fine! Hurricane Irene wasn't that big of a deal (well, in New York. Can't say the same for the other states that were hit...), thank goodness... at least it wasn't around my area, since I wasn't in Zone A. And if you don't know what Hurricane Irene is... well, it's a hurricane. On the east coast. Ahah... all these arguments about the government overestimating the hurricane and shutting down the MTA and all that... well, better to be over-prepared than under-prepared like that horrid snowstorm last year.

Well, this is just me ranting. It's funny how some people seem to want a natural disaster to occur here. First the earthquake, then the hurricane... even if they weren't a big deal, it still scares me a little. RIP to the eleven year old boy who died :(

): In any case, I don't know how much editing I can take before I crash haha. I actually took a lot out of this chapter... one thing I'm noticing is that there are a lot of unneeded scenes lmao. Whatever. S'all good, right?

Please review and share your thoughts!


	5. Nov 25 to 28, Sat to Tues

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Seven – Ten_

**Chapter 5**—Bad Habits

_Day Seven_

"Okay… so what are we going to buy?" Tenten asked Neji, looking at a list of items that Kairi gave her.

They walked side by side, looking around the mall to see if there was anything that they could buy for Misaki. Well, it was more like Tenten was the one who was looking around, and Neji was the one looking over at Naruto and Hinata every five minutes to see if Naruto touched her yet. Tenten chose to ignore the fact that Neji was like an overprotective mother (which was one thing that she would never say out loud unless she wanted to die.)

"Hn." Neji replied, as he kept following Naruto and Hinata at a slow pace, eyeing them like a hawk.

She rolled her eyes, getting fed up with his overprotective behavior. "Oh, c'mon Neji! Hinata can take care of herself. Oh! Let's go in there. Maybe there's something in there that Misaki will like!" Tenten said as she pulled Neji into the store, ignoring Neji's struggle to get away from her clutches.

* * *

"Hm… Kairi said that Misaki liked to sketch…," Tenten muttered to herself as she scrolled down the aisles, with Neji following her reluctantly. "Oh! How about this? Neji, do you think Misaki will like this sketchbook?" Tenten asked, pulling a sketchbook from a shelf.

"Hn."

"Ugh, Neji, can't you say something else instead of 'Hn'? Seriously, I wonder why people call you a prodigy," muttered Tenten.

Neji just shrugged off that comment, and stood there like a statue.

"Aren't you going to buy Misaki anything? And don't you dare say 'Hn', this time." Tenten asked, as she pulled Neji to the register.

"No."

"Can't you reply with more than one word?" Tenten asked irritably, paying the cashier.

"Yes."

Tenten sighed. She didn't why she even bothered. He obviously had a lack of social skills. How did he ever get a girlfriend in the first place? Tenten frowned to herself—this wasn't good. She was thinking about it again, and this time, that thought just came out naturally. She sighed to herself as she walked absentmindedly to the store next door.

She swear that she was getting obsessive with the topic.

* * *

"Okay, Shika!" Ino said, ready to get down to business.

Ino stopped in the midst of the crowd, making Shikamaru stop as well. Shikamaru sighed, "Shika? Since when did you start calling me Shika?" He was tired—hearing his actual name from her was enough, but to be dubbed another name by her? That would be too troublesome, and even more if he didn't reply to his new nickname that he was unfamiliar with.

"Since your name got too long," she stated, giving him the look as if it was the most obvious this in the world. She ignored his lack of response. "Let's go get the supplies!" She quickly changed the topic and grabbed his arm, pulling him along to a store filled with party essentials.

Ino seemed to take no notice of Shikamaru's discomfort. She ignored his constant sighs as she continued to link arms with him while looking through the aisles. She felt him trying to pull back his arm from hers, but she ignored that act. The moment that he tried to tug his arm back, she left go. Stumbling back a bit, Shikamaru only sighed, rubbing his arm.

"Would you stop with the sighing?" Ino snapped, turning around and glaring at him. Shikamaru shrugged, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and trailed along after Ino obediently.

It was always the same procedure, whenever they hung out together. She would yell, he would only shrug nonchalantly, and they would go along their merry way. It was only after a few seconds of peace that Ino would find something wrong with him, and the cycle would start all over again. Shikamaru yawned at the tiresome errand they had to run, but made no comment of complaint. He knew that saying something Ino didn't like would only result in more troublesome arguments (or just shouts, on Ino's behalf).

"Chips… check… cups… check…" Ino muttered to herself as she scanned through the list. One by one, she shoved each item into Shikamaru's arms.

He sighed once again. Shopping with Ino—no matter if it was food or clothes—will always result in sore limbs. He could probably guess half the things on Ino's list which meant that he would lose an arm or two carrying the items without a cart. "I'll go find a cart," he said, walking away without waiting for Ino's approval.

Ino of course, was too engrossed in her search for items. It was like a scavenger hunt for her, as weird as it may seem. She turned around to look for Shikamaru when she noticed that no one was taking the item that she shoved behind her. Luckily, there was no one in the same aisle who could witness the act of stupidity.

She frowned at his disappearance. "Stupid Shika," Ino muttered to herself as she continued looking.

* * *

"Ne, Hinata! What are you looking at?" Naruto yelled, popping up from behind Hinata.

Hinata suddenly jumped, falling on to the floor as a result. Naruto looked startled, and tried to catch her, but he only managed to grab the list of things they needed that Hinata was holding. Naruto laughed sheepishly, rubbing his head as Hinata fell to the floor with a rather loud _thump_.

"Sorry Hinata! I only caught this piece of paper…" Naruto said, rubbing his face with a sorry grin.

"It's o-okay… Naruto-kun…" Hinata said softly, blushing a bit as Naruto helped her up. When his skin came in contact with hers, her face flamed, and she knew that she looked like a tomato right now.

"What's this?" Naruto asked, taking no notice of her red hot face.

"It's the list that K-Kairi gave me—us!" She immediately corrected herself, "to s-shop for," Hinata continued, walking along with Naruto in to a shop. Her face remained hot as she avoided any physical contact with the Uzumaki.

"Ehhh? This list doesn't have ramen! A party's no good without ramen! Let's get ramen Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled, pulling on Hinata's sleeve.

That wasn't good—Hinata felt herself blush even more, but nodded slowly. Deep down, she wished that his hand would stay on her sleeve, but she knew that that would only make her stay permanently red. The two walked down the aisle, searching for Naruto's beloved ramen together.

She wished that the moment would last forever.

* * *

After an exhausting day at the mall, all of them finally met up outside at the car. Tenten, Naruto and Shikamaru were seemed half dead from endless walking in the mall, Ino, Kairi and Hinata were as happy as when they came to the mall, and of course, Sasuke and Neji were the same as ever.

'_God I feel so tired…'_ Tenten thought, sighing as she tried to keep her eyes opened. _'When they say shop till you drop they really do mean drop…' _She sighed once again, closing her eyes for a second, before opening them to look at what Kairi bought. _'Damn God, what did she do? Buy the whole store!'_

"Wow Kairi… when you say shop, you really do shop…" Tenten commented dryly, staring at the bags that Kairi had in hand.

Kairi smiled proudly, and looked at her bags without an ounce of drowsiness (to which Tenten scowled at). "I did, didn't I?" She said, grinning happily. Which of course, made Tenten scowl again. She was feeling rather cranky from the shopping, which isn't unusual for her.

"Well, we should get going," Ino said, yawning. Tenten felt an odd sense of satisfaction knowing that she wasn't the only girl who was a bit (or more like, a lot) tired. "It's getting pretty late, and I need to be back in time for my shift at the store."

"Alright everyone, to the car!" Kairi yelled.

* * *

_Day Nine_

Sunday passed by, without any excitement. It was a typical day for her: sleeping, eating, homework. Of course, with the addition of planning for the party, it was less exciting (as if it ever was) as it usually was. The only good thing, however, was the amount of sleep Tenten got. She smiled happily to herself as she slightly bounced in her steps. It was once in a blue moon that she was ever this happy in the morning, and the fact that she was early made her even happier.

She hummed a slight tone to herself as she opened the door to her room. Her happiness diminished as she heard a hush whisper throughout the classroom, tied along with pointing a few nervous chuckles. She raised her eyebrow at the odd actions, but other than that, paid no attention to it.

It was probably nothing—after all, it _was _school.

"So you finally made your move," Misaki whispered, staring straight ahead.

Tenten raised a brow. Even Misaki was acting weird—usually, he would face her when he talked to her, but he made it seem as if they weren't speaking to each other. "Okay, let's pretend I know what you're talking about," Tenten commented.

"Don't you have any idea why those people were pointing and whispering at you?" Misaki asked, taking a glance at her before staring straight ahead.

"No… can you tell me why?" Tenten asked, raising a brow.

"You were at the mall with Hyuuga," was all he said.

"Are you stalking me?"

"No!" Misaki cried in exasperation. He looked around, seeing if anyone was watching them. The other students' attentions were already placed elsewhere, and were talking loudly amongst themselves. "A girl saw you at the mall with the Hyuuga. And rumors spread like wildfire after that..."

"What rumors?" Tenten demanded.

Misaki didn't look like he wanted to tell her, but her glare made him think otherwise. "That you're a whore," he said quietly. He took a look at her expression before continuing, "and a slut. That's basically it," he said, softly.

She knew that he was probably softening things up. The rumors were probably worse than that—she knew that Misaki felt bad for telling her that. A deep frown was etched into her face as she contemplated on what she should do. "You've got to be kidding me," Tenten mumbled to herself as her hands curled up into fists.

Misaki eyed the fists warily and patted her shoulder before quickly withdrawing. "Don't do it," he said meekly, shrinking a bit further away from Tenten, as if he was scared that he would punch the daylights out of him. "Don't fight," he said, even though he knew that it would have no effect on her. "...Don't do it," he repeated lamely again.

"Who did it?" Tenten asked quietly, glancing at Misaki. If it were any other day, she would laugh after seeing his face, but not today. "Who spread the rumors?" She asked again.

"I'll tell you only if you promise me that you won't do anything rash," he said. He gave her a hard stare, although it wavered a bit when Tenten glared at him. "Sanmi, Ayama and Kin," he answered quickly.

She smiled in satisfaction. She knew that in his head, he was probably chanting _'don't hurt me, don't hurt me, don't hurt me', _but at the moment, she didn't care. "See you later, Misaki," Tenten said, rushing out of the room.

"And there she goes..." Misaki mumbled to himself. He shivered at the thought of getting beaten up by Tenten. Sure, the thought of a girl fighting wasn't exactly the strong image one would imagine, but the way anger flared in Tenten's eyes for a split second scared the shit out of Misaki.

"Better them than me..."

Out in the hallways, Tenten stomped angrily through a few crowds that littered the corners. The fact that they even stooped as low as calling her a 'slut' or a 'whore' just because she was with Neji at the mall angered her more than it should have. It didn't make sense to her—jealousy, possessiveness, or even the stupid rumors that spread around. She didn't get why girls couldn't leave things the way they were.

She stopped in front of the bathroom door, guessing that it was the first place that the girls would be in. After all, from the sounds of it, they sounded like girls who fixed their make up every five seconds. She pushed open the door quietly, just in time to catch some of the conversation.

"Like oh my god! Did you see her face when she walked into the door? It was so hilarious!" Tenten winced at the high pitch of the girl who spoke.

"That serves her right for hanging with my Neji-kun," another girl commented. Tenten heard the faucet run for a second before it was turned off. "Who does she think she is? The nerve of that girl..."

"Yeah, well, we got her back, didn't we?" Another one asked.

"Yeah, and we got her good!" The first voice squealed, while the others laughed. The first voice joined in on the laughter.

Tenten frowned at their lame conversation. It was adding fuel to the fire, and she could feel herself wanting to get a good hit at one or two of them. "Oh really?" Tenten asked bitterly as she walked up to them.

The three of them stopped laughing as she went up to them. One of them had blonde hair that went up to her waist. Another one had dirty blonde hair, and the other had black hair that was very long. All of them dressed the same – like sluts. How they managed to dress like sluts when every girl in the entire school had the same outfit, Tenten would never know. Their skirts seemed to be a lot shorter than the regular ones, and it looked as if they ripped off a button or two at the top of their white dress shirt. They threw her a glare when they finally figured out why she was talking to them.

"Oh, so this is the girl who was with Amaya's Neji-kun," The black haired said, eyeing Tenten's outfit. "Hey, she's really as poor as they say!" She laughed at her.

Tenten didn't even want to know how the girl could tell that she was poor by looking at her uniform. "For your information, Neji isn't 'anyone's'." Tenten said.

"Oh, really? He isn't yours either, so back off!" The high pitched girl retorted back, as she glared at Tenten.

"Now, now, Sanmi. Let the new girl speak," The girl, who's known as Ayama said as she smirked at her.

"I know Neji's not mine," Tenten said, rolling her eyes. "But at least I'm his friend, not like you sluts!" Tenten said, her voice getting louder with each word.

"What did you call us?" The black haired (who Tenten assumed was named Kin) shouted.

"Did I stutter?" Tenten commented warily. "Or did you guys put on too much make up that it's starting to infect your ears?"

Sanmi pursed her lips and glared at Tenten, thinking of a comeback. "Well... at least we don't look like a boy!" She smiled, as if she won.

"Yeah. Good to know," Tenten said, nodding her head. "It's called tomboy; I guess it's time to update your vocabulary books."

Amaya glared at Tenten. "We know what it's called." She threw a glance at Sanmi and Kin. "At least, I know what it's called." She ignored the dumbfounded faces of the two. "You're... you're just a he-she. That's right; you can't tell whether you're a boy or a girl." She smirked as she knew that she hit a spot.

Tenten bit her lip. "It's called a hermaphrodite... and _no_," she pursed her lips as she glared at Amaya. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but last time I checked, I didn't have testicles."

"You're angry," Kin smiled happily amidst the tension in the air.

Tenten breathed in deeply as she shook her head, giving them a fake, bright smile. "And you know what? You have something black on your face."

She gave Tenten a look of horror as she rushed towards the bathroom mirror. She glared at Tenten after finding that nothing was wrong with her face. "What are you talking about? There's nothing on my face, stupid."

Tenten only smiled at her, before gladly showing her where the black spot was.

* * *

"Hey, Tenten! I heard what happened…" Ino said, catching up to Tenten.

Kairi and Hinata followed Ino afterwards, both of them running up to Tenten to hear what happened. The news got around pretty fast—yet both Kairi and Hinata were confused at Tenten's actions.

"You did?" Tenten asked in surprise. It was only a few hours since her incident in the bathroom, though no one seemed to know what happened yet. Either that, or they were pretending that they didn't hear.

"Yeah. I-It was horrible of what they s-said about you. We know that n-none of it is true." Hinata said, giving Tenten a sympathetic look.

"Thanks guys, but I've taken care of everything." Tenten said, walking towards a table in the cafeteria.

"Really? What did you do?" Kairi asked, walking ahead, as she looked back at Tenten.

"You guys haven't heard?" Tenten asked in surprise.

"No… what didn't we hear?" Ino asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

That was something new. Tenten blinked at their cluelessness, wondering why no one seemed to have heard what happened yet. Tenten thought that the three for sure would go around and tell everyone that she had beaten them up, or at least ratted her to the principal. Even though it was suspicious, she was grateful for the fact that no one knew what she did. "Nothing to worry about," Tenten said with a happy smile.

The other three didn't seem to like her answer, but they left it at that. "If you say so," Kairi said. "So what happened to the three bird brains?" Kairi asked, referring to Sanmi, Amaya and Kin. "Haven't seen them since school began."

"Since when did you care what they did?" Ino asked.

"I don't. It' just weird," Kairi said, shrugging.

"I-I think they cut school today," Hinata said, taking a bit into her sandwich that the maids prepared at the Hyuuga Manor.

"They don't seem to be smart enough to cut school..." Kairi mumbled to herself, digging into her lunch.

Tenten thought about the idea and sighed. That only meant they left school to fix up their faces. She didn't know if they would rat her out to the principal, and she was pretty sure that they would have. At least, that was what any normal person would've done.

_'But then again... they're not that normal with their plastic faces,' _Tenten thought wryly to herself.

"A-Are you okay Tenten?" Hinata asked with concern. "You seem to be bothered by something..." She said.

"I'm fine," Tenten said, waving the matter off.

_'Time to get suspended again...' _Tentne sighed a bit at the thought. And just when she thought that things had finally gotten better...

This happens.

Although it was her fault—she just never could control her anger and actions. It was as if she was controlled by her own emotions. That was her way of dealing with things—she couldn't help herself. It almost became second nature to her when she started to get moved around from home to home.

She only sighed, wishing that she wasn't this way.

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he tried to ignore the staring of his fan girls. He closed his eyes as he went into deep thought. He couldn't get what happened at the mall out of his head…

_He was walking around the shop, looking for something to buy. As always, the girls who were nearby (and even the girls who weren't) rushed towards where he was to stare and giggle at him. It was fine—as long as they didn't come within five feet of him, he was fine with it. Sure, it got annoying, but he would be fine as long as there was no physical contact between them._

_He was fine with small groups of girls. But when one of them called out his name to alert the other girls at the mall, he wasn't so fine anymore. He loathed being chased around, which was what they pushed him to do._

"_OH MY GOD! UCHIHA SASUKE IS __**RIGHT THERE**__!" One of them shouted._

_That line made Sasuke run for his dear life. Half an hour of playing hide and seek with the fan girls passed, and he finally lost the rest of the girls looking for him. When he came out from behind a shop though, a girl stared at him. "Uchiha Sasuke?" She asked softly, staring at him. "Is that you?"_

_She had light red hair, and red eyes. Contacts. Sasuke glanced briefly at her, bracing himself for physical contact and finding an exit to escape from. He waited, for her to squeal and run up to him, but she did nothing._

_Suddenly, she broke out into a big smile. "It really __**is**__ you! I've been looking all over for you! You wouldn't __**believe**__ how long it takes to look for someone like you!" She yelled excitedly._

_Assuming that that was all she was going to do, he walked away with disinterest._

"_No, please wait! I'm not one of your fan girls, as much as I want to be anyways!" She said, as she took a breath. Afraid that she was losing Sasuke's interest, she said quickly, "I'm a friend of Haruno Sakura!" She yelled, making Sasuke stop immediately._

That scene was on replay.

_I'm a friend of Haruno Sakura._

_I'm a friend of Haruno Sakura._

_Haruno Sakura._

_'Why can't she just __leave us alone? We were all doing fine until she showed up in our lives again,'_ Sasuke thought bitterly. _'But yet… I'm still attracted to her…'_

"Hey Sasuke! What's with the long face?" A girl's bright voice asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hn."

"What's with geniuses and 'Hn'?" She huffed. "Is it like the trend in a magazine subscribed just to geniuses?" She asked sarcastically.

Sasuke didn't have to open his eyes to know who that was. But yet, he did it anyways. "What do you want?" He asked.

Tenten smiled happily. An answer that held more than one word—so he _did _know how to make a conversation. She sat down in the chair in front of him and started interrogating. "Did something happen at the mall?" She asked quietly, eyeing his expression.

"Nothing happened."

"Liar!" Tenten accused. "I know when something happened. You looked awfully distracted during the car ride home," she protested.

"And since when did you ever pay attention to me?" Sasuke asked, smirking.

Tenten glared at him, blushing a bit. "You were just abnormally quiet."

He didn't say anything back, but she knew that he was enjoying making fun of her. "So what happened?" She asked seriously.

"Nothing."

She inwardly twitched at his lack of cooperation with her. If he was expecting her to help him, how would she do it if she had no idea what was going on with him?

"Today we will we learning about enthalpy." Orochimaru started off their listen with his monotone voice. "Can anyone tell me what enthalpy means?" He glanced around the room, eventually settling on one of his prey. "Sasuke?"

Tenten suppressed a shudder as she heard the way he spoke Sasuke's name.

She knew that Orochimaru was a pedophile right then and there.

* * *

_Day Ten_

Tenten chatted with Hinata as they walked towards the school. Neji had woken up early and left school without them, which wasn't unusual considering the fact that he always went to school without them. Worry struck Tenten as they neared the school, remembering the past events with the three girls.

"Do you think Sanmi and the others will show up today?" Tenten asked curiously as they walked into the school.

"Probably... If they don't t-then_—_"

"Hinata? What are you star_—_?" Tenten followed Hinata's gaze, and it landed on the bulletin board.

**The He-She Attacks!**

* * *

_Edit—Tuesday, March 30, 2010_

Hm. Edited a small part of Tenten and Sasuke's conversation, changed around Tenten and Misaki's conversation at the beginning (although it's still the same concept), and uh. I think that's mostly it. I screwed up with the Days :X So, I'll be changing that. Not that anyone notices/cares, anyways.

**Bad Habits – My Favorite Highway**

WhippedCoffee(:  
_...yeah._


	6. Nov 28, Tues

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Ten_

**Chapter 6**—Shock

_Someone's going to die._

_Someone's going to die, __**painfully.**_

"Who did this?" Tenten asked Hinata, refraining herself from lashing out at her.

She looked at Tenten with a bit of fear, but other than that made no response. Hinata quickly skimmed through the short article while Tenten fumed silently to herself. She ignored the students who stared and whispered at her, and continued to fume to herself whilst reading the article.

"T-Tenten..." Hinata started, wondering if it was wise to interrupt Tenten in her fuming stage. "Did you really do this?" She asked softly, referring to the article.

It was as if Tenten was deaf; she didn't hear a word that Hinata uttered as she read the article.

**A junior, one that is surname-less, violently (and some say sadistically) beats up her seniors in the girls' bathroom, on the second floor. None of the details are being opened, however. The follow-up of this story will be posted next week. Interviews are being held for students who have heard or seen anything. Contact the newspaper committee if you have any comments, concerns, or questions.**

Tenten glared at the piece of paper attached to the bulletin, as if it was the person who published it. She pushed up her sleeves, ready to tear it down.

"S-Some people seemed mad… seeing that you b-beat up seniors…" Hinata said quietly, looking around to find students whispering and pointing. Hinata slowly held onto Tenten's hands, pulling her sleeves back down. She didn't want Tenten to erupt in another fight, if the first fight was true in the first place.

Tenten frowned angrily to herself, not hearing a word that Hinata spoke of. She balled her hands into a fist as she heard the chatters amongst them.

"That's the he-she!" A random person whispered loudly.

"Wow…" Another one said.

"Figures it'll be that new girl," another one said, with a snort following it up. Laughter soon filled the air after that, with the snorting girl laughing at the highest pitch.

"Shut the fuck up!" Tenten's bubbling anger burst, immediately quieting the laughing girl. Hinata took a quiet step back from Tenten, afraid of what Tenten was going to do. "Who did this?" She repeated to herself, glaring a hole into the article.

"W-We'll deal with this once we get to homeroom Tenten… W-We shouldn't make a big scene now," Hinata said, as she gingerly took Tenten's arm.

Tenten glared at the ground as Hinata led the way.

Whoever wrote the article had a painful future ahead of them.

* * *

The noise stopped as soon as the door creaked open. Students stared at Tenten who walked past them as if it was any other normal day at school. As soon as she sat down, the gossip around her started.

"That's the he-she…?"

"Damn, who knew it was the new girl…"

"Wow, we never had this much commotion since last year…"

Tenten closed her eyes, blocking out the resounding noise. It seemed to work—the volume of the noise quieted down to whispers.

"People stopped calling you new girl now," Neji commented beside her.

Ternten opened her eyes, looking over at Neji. He was staring straight ahead, as if he wasn't paying attention to Tenten. "'He-She' isn't an ideal name to be called, either," Tenten grumbled.

Hearing no response from him, Tenten frowned in anger. At this point, most of the students had already brought up a new topic to talk amongst themselves in their group of friends. "I mean, who writes stupid stories like that? Don't they have anything better to do?" She frowned to herself once again.

"The newspaper club has not been doing very well these past months," Neji input the fact as he continued to stare at the chalkboard.

"…We had a newspaper?"

"Exactly."

Tenten sighed. "What am I gonna do…?"

"Hn."

"Tenten! I heard about what happened," Misaki burst into the room, although no one took notice of him. It seemed as though their interest faded as soon as Tenten sat down in her chair.

Tenten sighed once again, putting her head in her arms. "Yeah…" She grumbled into her arms. "The whole school knows by now. I mean, how was I supposed to know that they were seniors?"

Misaki started laughing nervously, which made Tenten sit up and look suspiciously at him. "Well… You see…" Misaki said, laughing nervously once more, "I was _going_ to tell you…" That made Tenten glare at him, "but then you ran out of the room before I did so…"

Tenten groaned, slumping down in her seat. "I am going to hunt down the person who wrote that…"

Neji's stoic face cracked as he realized what was going to happen. He smirked.

Homeroom passed by, and so did 1st, 2nd, and 3rd period. Tenten tried to find the newspaper crew, but no luck. She frowned as she stepped inside her English class. She suddenly stopped, brightening up as she thought of an idea.

Kakashi usually comes in late.

She smiled to herself as she took a few steps backwards. No one would notice that she would be gone—it didn't even look like no one cared. She was pretty sure that the others wouldn't rat her out, if they noticed, anyways. Tenten smiled at her genius idea, and proceeded to the hallways.

'_I think I have a hunch on where that newspaper room is…'_

She suddenly stopped outside of a classroom door. _'I'm sure this is it…' _Tenten started to reach for the door knob, but hesitated_. 'What if a teacher's in there? What will I say…? But wait… Hinata said something about the newspaper crew having no teacher,' _Tenten smiled to herself, feeling accomplished as she turned the door knob.

The door creaked open, and in there was a person, with raven hair, scribbling something down on a pad. It was an empty room, except for that one person.

That couldn't be him.

Could it?

Tenten frowned.

"Sasuke?"

* * *

"Tenten?" Kakashi recited from the roster. A new rule had to be enforced; students were caught skipping classes daily, and as a result, teachers were forced to take row call. This was a double burden for Kakashi, since he couldn't be late anymore.

Not to mention his paycheck was deducted when it was reported that he was late for his classes.

He frowned at that thought.

Not hearing Tenten's usual perky voice, Kakashi looked up from his book. "Tenten?" He repeated. He sighed as he noticed that her seat was empty. He didn't expect Tenten to be skipping class—she seemed harmless enough and not the type to cause trouble.

But as always, he was more than wrong.

"Neji, do you know where she is?" Kakashi asked, tiredly. What he really should be doing right about now was hiding in the teacher's lounge with a cup of coffee and his beloved book—but no, the old hag _had _to enforce a new rule. He knew that it was a mistake for her to be principal.

Oh, curse the heavens.

Neji shook his head.

"Would you?" He asked, not bother expanding on the thought. He knew that Neji would understand what he was trying to ask. He _was _a genius, anyways.

Neji stood up, and exited the room. He had no problem with looking for Tenten, but it was beyond bothersome that he had to be stuck with the job of playing hide and seek with her. It wasn't that troublesome, to be honest. Neji could guess where she disappeared off to—it didn't take a genius to figure that out.

He smirked, wondering what Tenten's expression would be when she finds out that Sasuke was the one who wrote the article.

* * *

"You're the editor?" Tenten was surprised.

Actually, surprise wasn't the right word to describe it.

More like, horrified.

Sasuke looked a bit taken back from her outburst, but quickly reverted back to his old self. "Shouldn't you be in class?" He asked, wondering what she was doing there. Something clicked in his brain as a small smirk grew on his face.

Tenten narrowed her eyes at his growing smirk. "Take down that article of me."

He raised a brow. Was she demanding something from him? He refrained the urge to laugh in her face—although he would never do that, anyways. No one demanded anything from an Uchiha, no matter what the situation was. "No."

"Take it down!" She whined childishly, stomping her feet and glaring at Sasuke. At this point, she had no idea how to persuade him. Based on her observations on his interactions with Naruto, it seemed as if it was a fact that annoying him would make him think otherwise about putting that article up.

"No."

It didn't work.

Tenten frowned deeply. "Are you that desperate for a story?"

To her satisfaction, Sasuke frowned. He didn't like being told that he was desperate, especially if it was from a certain brunette who had no idea what she was saying. "It's not desperation. It was just an interesting story." He stated, narrowing his eyes at her.

"It's all bull," she cried.

"Not from what I head," his original smirk came back. He knew that she was lying. After all, he had overhead everything from outside the girl's bathroom. But she didn't need to know that.

"If I give you another interesting story, will you take it down?" Negotiation was the next step.

She could do this.

Tenten breathed in and out.

She could do this.

"No."

She couldn't do it.

Tenten glared at him, wanting to hurt every part of his body. "Can I kick you?"

Sasuke stared at Tenten, wondering the reason behind the odd question. Did she eat something rotten?

"No."

She groaned in desperation, not knowing what else to do. "What do I have to do to get your to take the story off?" She was getting desperate—she had to take that story down, no matter what.

A thoughtful look fell over his face as he thought about it. There was one thing that she could help with... not to mention it would get his parents off his back. He smirked, looking up at Tenten.

"Go out with me."

* * *

"Go out with me."

He halted in his steps, not believing the words that he heard.

Uchiha?

Going out with Tenten?

That was absurd. They didn't even know each other that well—what was he thinking? Neji frowned to himself. He must be out of his mind. They were practically strangers.

"Have you gone mad? Did you eat something that expired? Were you dropped on your head as a baby? Why in the world would you want to go out with me?"

Even though it was small, Neji felt his heart flutter a bit at Tenten's reaction. At least he knew that she wasn't insane, like the Uchiha.

"Aren't you the one who wanted me to take down the article?

Neji narrowed his eyes. So that was all for that? He refrained the urge to scoff—he didn't believe that the Uchiha would sink that low as to force a girl to go out with him.

"...smartass," he heard Tenten mutter to herself. "Take off the story or else I won't help you."

Help him?

Neji had confusion etched across his face.

Just what kind of relationship did those two have?

* * *

Tenten felt satisfied looking at Sasuke's frown. Finally, she had him. "Don't frown or else you'll get wrinkles," Tenten said happily, knowing that he would take down the story.

"Fine," Sasuke said coldly. "Don't help me," he said, as he resumed what he was writing.

Tenten looked at him, mouth wide opened. Well that was unexpected. "B-But don't you need my help?" She was wavering—she cursed the Uchiha for his stupid mind games.

"Doesn't matter anymore. I don't care," he said, still writing.

Tenten grumbled a few incoherent words to herself. Sasuke caught some words like 'bastard' and 'freak', but other than that, he didn't bother to listen to what she was saying to herself. "Will you go if I tell you what happened with Hyuuga?"

Tenten widened her eyes. What was he trying to say? She frowned at his persistency. "What games are you trying to play?" She asked harshly. "What's there to know about Neji? Are you that desperate for a date that you'll use any method to get her to come?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. He wasn't expecting her to react that harshly. "You seemed to be curious about his break-up," was all he said. "I'm not playing any games."

Tenten blinked, her sudden anger fading away. Guilt immediately settled in the pit of her stomach as she stared guiltily at Sasuke. "Sorry..." She muttered, knowing fully well that Sasuke wouldn't be able to hear her. "I'd... I'd rather not want to know," Tenten stammered. That of course was a lie, and Sasuke probably saw through it, but she didn't care. She'd rather not have a million thoughts of Neji and Sakura plague her mind late at night, as it before. It was not her problem to care about, and she felt like she was prying too much.

"But you want to know," he deducted, staring dead into her eyes. "Everyone can see it. You're new, so you don't know what happened. Curiosity consumes you even more, since you're Hyuuga's friend. Since you know that he won't tell you anything, you're even more curious as to what happened. Don't deny it," he said, leaning back in his chair.

She wanted to push him off that chair at that very moment.

"So, you'll go out with me right?"

"When hell freezes—"

"Saturday night," he stated, as if she hadn't said anything at all.

She narrowed her eyes. Here he was again, bringing up that annoying topic. "Don't you like—"

"It doesn't matter anymore." Sasuke said quickly, cutting her off. "I don't like her, and she doesn't like me." He paused, as if he wanted to say more, but instead he resumed his work again, writing quickly.

Tenten stopped talking. "The mall, right?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked swiftly, pausing a bit before he continued writing.

"The mall. Something happened. You… you received… like… some kind… of message." Tenten asked, eyeing Sasuke carefully.

"Hn."

* * *

Their conversation was weird.

That was all Neji could say about their conversation, for lack of better words. He didn't know when to step in, without making it seem like he was eavesdropping on their conversation.

It was silent for a while. That is, until Sasuke spoke again. "So, yes or no?" He asked.

"Why? Why are you asking me out?"

"I need an excuse to get out on Saturday night."

There was silence in the room. "What? Did you want me to say, 'I like you'?" He could hear Sasuke scoff. "Family dinner. I don't want to go. I can't go out if I just hang out with friends."

'_Tch… I should probably get her right now…'_ Neji thought irritably, not wanting to hear any of their conversation any more. The door creaked open as Neji opened it.

Both of them turned around. "Oh. What are you doing here Neji?" Tenten asked. Sasuke only stared, not showing a drop of emotion.

"Kakashi-sensei's looking for you. And I could ask **you** the same thing," Neji said to Tenten, as he turned around to go back to the 4th floor. He paused, as he looked at Sasuke over his shoulder, who was smirking as if he knew something that he didn't. Neji looked at him for a split second before walking off.

Tenten smiled sheepishly. "Talk to you later, Sasuke." Tenten said, waving him off. Sasuke nodded at her, as she ran to catch up with Neji. "Were you listening in our conversation?"

"Hn."

* * *

"Hey Tenten!" Kairi yelled, as she and Ino sat down at the regular table that the group usually sat in.

"Yeah?" Tenten answered as she looked up from her lunch.

"Heard about what happened," Kairi said sympathetically, as she took a bite of her sandwich. "I know right," Ino added, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe Sasuke actually wrote the story," Ino said.

Tenten stopped eating. Ino looked at her with a perfectly shaped eyebrow raised, while Kairi just continued eating her lunch. Tenten narrowed her eyes at the two."You mean… You guys _knew_ that Sasuke is the editor?"

"Of course," Kairi said, as she drank her water. "His mother wanted him to get into some educational clubs, just not sports all the time. He's also a photographer, you know," Ino said, unwrapping her sandwich.

Tenten groaned. "And now you mention it…" Tenten said as she sighed.

"Well… you never did ask…" Kairi said, with Ino nodding in agreement.

"D-Did you get Sasuke-san to drop the topic?" Hinata asked, appearing from behind her. A look of concern crossed her face as she waited for Tenten's answer.

"No," she narrowed her eyes as she thought back to what happened. "He successfully lured me into another topic," she grumbled a few other words under her breath, incoherent to Kairi and Hinata's ears.

"What did he say?" Ino asked curiously.

"He asked me out," Tenten gave them a strange look as she said that, in a tone that indicated that she thought Sasuke was high on something. "What a weirdo," she remarked.

"WHAT?" Ino shouted, slamming her fists on the table. It caught the attention of the other students in the cafeteria, whom she ignored while she continued on her rampage. "How? What's so great about _you_?" She asked in disbelief.

Tenten felt herself twitch (not really) as she heard that indirect insult from Ino. "What is _that _suppose to mean..."

"Don't mind Ino," Kairi said airily. "She's just angry that Sasuke didn't ask her out when she had that huge crush on him."

"Kairi!"

"What? You can't say that that's not true."

"Just eat your sandwich, you pig."

"_Excuse me? _You're the damn pig."

"YOU KNOW WHAT—"

"A-Ano," Hinata interrupted their argument quietly, not wanting more attention from the other students. "What did you say?" She asked Tenten, wanting to change the topic.

"I didn't get to answer. Neji interrupted," Tenten said mindlessly, poking at what was supposed to be "chicken". But she had her doubts.

Kairi whistled, wiggling her eyebrows at Ino, who ignored her stupid antics. "Cockblocker," Kairi said softly, giving Ino an amused grin.

"K-Kairi!" Hinata's face reddened as she heard the foul word from Kairi's mouth. Kairi laughed, "It's not like you've never heard that word before Hinata!"

"She doesn't need to be corrupted with your immature mind," Ino stated, glaring at Kairi, still a bit peeved at the fact that Kairi blurted out her so-called 'secret' of being in love with the Uchiha. "Not all of us need to know what goes on in your mind.

"Cheh," Kairi turned away from Ino, immediately found something interesting in her sandwich as she poked at it.

"Did Neji-niisan say anything?" Hinata asked curiously.

"No... why would he?" Tenten asked, giving Hinata a strange look. "it's not like he was eavesdropping."

"Are you sure?" Kairi asked slyly, giving Tenten a grin. "Maybe that was his whole plot. He wanted you all for himself, and he didn't want the stupid Uchiha to have you."

"Who's a stupid Uchiha?"

Kairi froze, cursing silently to herself. She should've known not to say that – every time she made a small (from her point of view—to others, it was not that small) insult, the Uchiha appears out of nowhere. Was he a psychic or what?

"Hi Sasuke!" Kairi greeted, as if nothing happened. "How was your lovely day?" She asked, avoiding eye contact.

"It was fine until I heard, 'stupid Uchiha'," he said, staring at the Kairi. After a moment of silence, he glanced quickly at Tenten, as if taunting her. He swiftly turned his heel, and walked off.

"Well that was awkward," Kairi commented, finishing off the last bit of her sandwich.

* * *

And the day ended.

Well, almost.

Tenten shut her locket, looking around the empty hallways. Classes were over at least ten minutes ago, and the hallways cleared as soon as the bell rang. It seemed like all the students were itching to get out of class as soon as possible, faster today than all the other days.

Not that Tenten had a problem with it.

She rather liked the emptyness of the hallways. It gave her a sense of privacy—although, at this moment, she wished the hallways were as crowded as they usually were.

"We have a deal for you, Tenten." Amaya said.

Yes—the three angels sent from Satan appeared out of nowhere. Their bruises were gone—Tenten knew that she shouldn't be surprised, since of course, there was the magic of make-up, but she didn't realize that it could be concealed perfectly.

Maybe it was just her that couldn't put on make-up well.

"If you stay away from Neji-kun, we won't tell on you to the principal," Sanmi followed up.

This was all quite amusing for Tenten, really.

"If you don't tell me what to do," two can play a game. Or in this case, four. "Then I won't have to pulverize the rest of your face. Although you did a wonderful job with the bruises I left you," Tenten murmured as she stepped back to observe what seemed like flawless faces.

Sanmi hesitated on what she was going to say, wondering if what Tenten said was a compliment or an insult. "There's no need to be afraid, Sanmi," Kin said, mistaking Sanmi's hesitance for fear. "She's not all that great," Kin sneered.

"And this coming from the girl who screamed before I even touched her."

"Look. We know about your past. We know that you've been kicked out of at least 5 different schools. If you do what we say, there won't be any trouble for you." Amaya cut in.

"As if," Tenten scoffed, walking past them. She wasn't in the mood for another negotiation, as amusing as this was.

"Just stay away from Neji-kun. He doesn't like you. No one likes you."

Even though she knew it was a lie, it was painful to hear that from someone's mouth. Twice in her life she heard this line before—she never wanted to hear it again. "Go drown in a river," Tenten retorted back harshly, as she kept walking on.

"If you don't agree, then we'll just do what we did to Haruno to you," Amaya said simply, crossing her arms. "Do you want to flee the country, too?"

Tenten stopped in her tracks.

_Haruno Sakura._

What did they do to her?

Tenten turned back around, glaring at them. "What did you do to her?"

"Why do you want to know?" Sanmi said with a devil's smile.

"If you cooperate with us, you can know," Amaya stated. A smirk formed on her face. She had the upper hand, and she knew it.

Was it worth it?

Tenten frowned as she thought to herself. Why did she go through so much trouble to know about Neji's past? It wasn't any of her business, and she knew that Neji wouldn't like it if she knew. But it was really, really hard to stay in the shadows when everyone else knew about the so-called 'incident'.

Did she really want to know?

Tenten sighed. If she broke their 'deal', it's not like they can do much harm, seeing as though she beat them up quite easily, using only less than half her energy. All they knew how to do was pull on her hair until she nearly became bald—that, and the fact that they scratched like mad cats.

"Fine."

Tenten's voice echoed in the empty corridors.

Amaya's smirk flashed in her mind, over and over again.

"Don't go back on your word. You'll regret it."

Such simple words, and yet, they gave Tenten goose bumps for the rest of the night.

* * *

_Edit—Friday, April 09, 2010_

**Shock – B2ST/BEAST**

Oh man. Changed around the dialogue with Ino, Kairi, Hinata & Tenten. Would be worth reading, I don't know (: Editted Tenten's and Sasuke's confrontation in the newspaper club – hohum. I think that's all, really...

WhippedCoffee(:_,  
every day I shuck, every night I shuck (:_


	7. Nov 29, Wed

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Eleven_

**Chapter 7**—Hot Issue

_Day Eleven_

"I need your answer. I don't have forever you know."

Tenten looked up. She felt like she was half dead; scratch that, she felt like she was fully dead. Insomnia was a bitch; well okay, so it wasn't insomnia, it was just her. Cramming was not good, she found out. She had forgotten that she had a huge exam on enthalpy and entropy and whatnot the next day in class, as a result of that nonsense encounter with the three girls. She worried for nothing—so far, nothing happened yet, and she made a slight interaction with Neji (although it was in the Hyuuga Manor—she doubt that any of the girls would be there to notice, but she shouldn't underestimate them, since they _did _have at least a hundred fan girls in his fan club). All that time spent for worrying should have been spent for studying—she cursed silently to herself as she tried to stay awake.

Sasuke gave Tenten a strange look as he sat down in his seat. "You look hideous."

Tenten felt a vein throb in her head as she heard his blunt remark. "Thanks for noticing," Tenten grumbled sarcastically.

"Yes or no?" He asked, ignoring her comment.

"No," she replied confidently, or as confident as a half awake person can.

"Hn," Sasuke stared at Tenten, as if waiting for her bluff. Realizing that she wasn't going to go back on her word, he only smirked. "You know, there are other ways to find out what happened between Hyuuga and Haruno."

Tenten's half lidded eyes snapped opened. "What are you trying to say?" She asked. He must have made that one up—although it was too coincidental for it to be nearly the same thing as what she was trying to find out.

"You agree to their deal about leaving Hyuuga alone just for an exchange of information about the Hyuuga..." He replied back in a tone that sounded like he should've done the same, although he would never voice that out loud.

Tenten bit her lip as she narrowed her eyes. At least she was a bit more than half awake now. As she thought over her choices, a new voice dropped into the conversation. "I'd rather not have you say what happened, Uchiha."

"How long were you here, Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes. It was too troublesome to have him interrupt when it looked like Tenten was ready to change her mind.

"Well I do have class here, if that's what you were wondering." Of course, Neji also narrowed his eyes at him.

She went back to being drowsy, now that her concentration was broken. She could barely keep up with their intensifying glares—not that she wanted to, anyways. As she almost drifted off to sleep, a hard shove woke her up from nearly banging her head on her desk.

"Alright class! Settle down, settle down! Get back to your seats!" Kakashi yelled, making everyone scram to their seats. For once, he felt like teaching the bothersome kids.

Everyone was staring expectantly at their masked teacher. "Ok, now that you've settled down, you can do whatever you want." But that feeling quickly vanished as he eyed his new edition of his favorite series. "I'm leaving for a meeting in 15 minutes, so there's really nothing to teach," he continued eyeing his book as he gave his students his reason, "I'll give you your homework, and that is all." Kakashi said as he wrote the homework on the board. He then proceeded to ignore the loud students as he leaned back comfortably in his seat, reading his favorite book covered by a book cover.

Tenten frowned at Kakashi's laziness.

That was not worth waking up for.

Ignoring all the surrounding noises, she let her head fall on her desk, enjoying the coolness she felt. As soon as her mind drifted off to cloud nine, a note interrupted her thoughts. The sharp corner of the folded loose leaf scratched her neck, and Tenten made a pained face, although she didn't complain. She felt no need to turn around—she just knew that it was Sasuke—and glare at the Uchiha, since she would only be replied with a blank stare (or a glare).

_**I need your answer.**_

Tenten felt her vein throb again, but his short and blunt sentences. She had gotten a scratch on her neck for _that_? She scribbled her answer down quickly, throwing it back at Sasuke. She hoped she hit his eye—even though she had perfect aim, she knew that Sasuke would dodge it if he saw it coming.

But apparently he didn't.

She smiled to herself as he hissed in pain.

_**You have bad aim.**_

She narrowed her eyes at his response—which was totally irrelevant from her reply. And _she _had bad aim? Was he kidding? Tenten frowned at that thought—of course he wasn't kidding. He didn't even know how to make a joke. She scribbled down a fast reply.

_**I aimed for you, stupid. **_

She turned towards Neji to her left, wondering what he was doing for the remaining ten minutes. She wasn't surprised—after all, he was just blankly staring ahead. She frowned at his lack of social skills; she would have to teach those to him someday.

_**Look—I don't really want to spend the whole night with you, nevertheless an hour. Just show up at my house presentably without those stupid hair buns of yours and after that, we can just do whatever the hell we want separately.**_

Tenten glared at the piece of paper. If that was all he wanted to do, then why did he go through all that trouble to ask her out on a 'date'?

Uchihas are sure strange.

And what did he mean, 'stupid hair buns'? Tenten self consciously reached up to her hair buns. She thought they were fine—sure, she had gotten a few weird comments about it, a few insulting ones, and there were the occasional, "they're so cute", ones, but _stupid_? The nerve of that...

_**Stupid hair buns? Are you kidding me? Have you seen that hideous chicken you call hair that sits on top of your head? If you needed a fake date, why didn't you just say that from the start? Instead of giving me weird questions and putting me through all that stupid confusion...**_

Satisfied with her response, she threw it behind her shoulder. As she waited for a reply, she looked to her right, wondering what everyone else was doing.

She should've just stared straight.

Girls glared at her with hatred, and there were a few guys that just glared at her for some unknown reason. She gulped to herself as she stared in front of the classroom. Maybe they were staring at someone other than her—but not, that couldn't be it. Sasuke and Neji surrounded her.

Stupid Uchiha.

_**My hair is not chicken.**_

Really, Uchiha was stupid.

_**Do you need a mirror? There's one in the bathroom if you need one.**_

Tenten hummed to herself as she waited for his reply. If he answered back with a five worded sentence, she felt the need to rip it up and throw it in his face. He was straying awfully far from the main topic—guess Uchihas had A.D.D.

_**7 o'clock, Uchiha Manor. If you're late, the story is getting posted.**_

Tenten felt the urge to turn around and strangle him. But of course, she had to keep her reputation clean, even though it was smudged a bit with the he-she story floating around...

_**You love ignoring everything I say, don't you? Don't worry, I'll come extra early, just for you.**_

She wondered if her sarcasm was clear through the note, but immediately changed her mind when she felt a hot glare on the back of her head. Before she could get a reply, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period.

Time flies when you're making fun of chicken haired Uchihas.

* * *

Tenten sat in the cafeteria at their usual table. She caught a glimpse of the hyper blonde that she didn't see yesterday—or rather, in the past few days.

"Hey Tenten! I heard about the 'He-She' story yesterday! I can't believe teme put that up!" Naruto yelled, frowning at Sasuke's actions. He slurped his ramen (Tenten had no idea where he had gotten that in the first place, but felt a bit scared to ask) rather loudly before commenting on Sasuke again. "Teme is so mean!"

Tenten laughed at Naruto's simple insult. "He's not nice, either," Tenten said. "Where were you yesterday?" She asked curiously. On second thought, she hadn't seen any of the guys yesterday, except for Sasuke who showed up from nowhere.

"Oh, I was helping Kakashi-sensei with some planning!" Naruto replied cheerfully.

"Planning?" It was suspicious, the way Naruto said it. "Planning what?"

"Oh, you'll find out." Naruto said, with an odd twinkle in his eye.

Tenten nodded her head unsurely as the others came running up to her. Or, more like, Ino came running up to her. "What did you say?" Ino demanded.

"Fake date."

"...What?"

"Fake date."

"..._What_?"

"Fake. Date."

"...What in the—"

"Stupid, she said fake date," Kairi rolled her eyes as she sat down next to Tenten. "It hasn't sunk into her brain yet, give her some time. She is _such _a blonde..." Kairi muttered to herself.

Ino scrunched up her face, clearly not liking Kairi's comment. Her expression was quickly replaced with a grin as the 'fake date' sunk into her head. "So he didn't really ask you out? He just needed a fake date?" She asked with a smile.

"I-Ino!" Hinata said incredulously. "T-That's not a nice way to—"

"Oh, it's fine Hinata," Tenten said, waving the matter off.

"Ino needs an ego boost anyways," Kairi snickered at her own joke, biting into her sandwich happily.

Naruto frowned, looking back and forth between Kairi and Ino, not knowing what was going on. He shrugged to himself, not bothering to ask as he continued to slurp happily on his beloved ramen. Hinata blushed as she stared at Naruto—it felt like it had been weeks since she last saw him, but it was only a few days. She only had one class with him, and he had missed it since he was kicked out for 'misbehavior'.

Ino chose to ignore Kairi's comment, not letting her anger boil over. She sat down next to Naruto (although not too close, since the ramen soup was splattering everywhere from his constant slurping) and started poking at her salad. "So, if you're going on a fake date, what are you doing afterwards?"

Tenten shrugged. "We'll probably go our own ways."

"If S-Sasuke-san needs to go somewhere... he can stay at the Manor," Hinata suggested softly. Her voice was quieter than usual—Tenten guessed that it was because of a certain boy sitting across from her. "It's unsafe to be out at nights..."

Tenten frowned. "I don't want to see him at all, so why bring him to the Hyuuga Manor...?" She mumbled. "But if you insist, Hinata..." Tenten sighed, nodding along.

"Hey, hey, hey! Can I come too?" Naruto asked, finally finishing his ramen.

"Oh Naruto! You were so quiet I forget that you were even here," Kairi said. She pondered thoughtfully to herself before making her observation, "and that's the quietest you've ever been."

"And the quietest you'll ever see!" Naruto said with a big grin. "Now, I can come right? Hinata-chan, you don't mind, would you?" Naruto asked, staring at Hinata with his big eyes. "Neji will be there right? So it's okay, right?"

Hinata blushed as Naruto looked at her with his cerulean eyes. She nodded timidly. "Yes, Naruto-kun…" She blushed harder, if that was even possible, as she tried to avoid eye contact with him.

"YAY!" Naruto shouted excitedly, doing his own little dance.

"Since he wants to go," Tenten said, looking at Hinata, "would it be okay to invite everyone?"

"O-Of course!" Hinata nodded.

"I'm not going."

"Why not?" Tenten frowned at Kairi.

"She's afraid of the dark," Ino smiled at Kairi's horror-stricken face. The expression quickly changed to annoyance as she glanced at Ino. "Do you want me to shove a fork up your nose?"

"K-Kairi!"

"She's going, no worries," Ino replied for Kairi.

Kairi glared at Ino, "When did you make my decisions for me, _mom_?" Noticing that she wasn't going to get a reply back any time soon, she turned towards Tenten. "Now all you have to do is to get ask Neji if you could stay in his room. After all, we're not staying in the same room… are we?" Kairi asked, eyeing Tenten. "If we do, I am so out of there."

"She's got boy-phobia," Ino whispered to Tenten. Tenten giggled at that, and Ino smiled at Kairi.

Kairi glared at Ino. "I do **not**! I just don't believe that it's right to sleep with a guy before you get married!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "If you don't sleep with a guy, then how do you expect to _get _married?" Ino sighed as she took a bite of her sandwich. "Kairi, you're so young and naive."

Kairi rolled her eyes too. "Ino, you've been sleeping with guys since you were eleven years old," Kairi ignored Ino's protests and shouts of "no!", and Naruto's cries of "what? Ino isn't a virgin?" and continued on, "Of course you think you have to sleep with guys before you get married," Kairi said, smirking at Ino. "Or, are you sticking with our goal sheets, where you put that you would sleep with at least… how many guys was it? A hundred something, before you get married?" Kairi grinned at Ino's anger.

"Kairi!" Ino shouted. "It was only a hundred, and that was my favorite number back then! And **you** were the one who gave me that stupid goal quiz to figure out what my goal was!"

Kairi grinned. "Whatever you say..."

Ino huffed. "I still say you're afraid to be even in the same _room _as a guy overnight…" That earned a glare from Kairi.

Hinata giggled and Naruto grinned widely (although was still confused if Ino was still a virgin or not) at their argument. Tenten rolled her eyes. "Well, we could stay in my room or Hinata's… but Hinata's room is so much bigger!" Tenten commented.

"Then it's settled! We're gonna stay at Hinata's room then! And the guys are gonna stay in Neji's room!" Ino concluded, as all her anger vanished. "And I'll ask Shikamaru to come too! Surely, he'll say yes."

"Actually… Now that you mention it… I have to ask Neji." Tenten said.

She had a feeling that he wouldn't agree to this.

* * *

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"_Please?_"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Tenten felt a vein throb in her forehead, much like how it did during her note passing with Sasuke. "Why not?" She asked.

"Because I will not have three idiots trashing my room," Neji replied calmly, walking ahead of Tenten and Hinata on their way towards the Hyuuga Manor.

"P-Please Neji-niisan?" Hinata asked.

"Why don't you just have them stay in another room? Why have them stay in mine? They're going to keep me up all night," Neji said

"B-Because then that wouldn't be r-right. We could put them i-in the guest rooms, but I d-don't think that they will l-like that." Hinata explained.

Neji did not respond to Hinata's explanations. Instead, he continued to walk at a quick pace, as if trying to get into his room, fast, in order to lock himself in and not let any others in. "Haven't you ever had a sleepover before? You don't stick people in guest rooms! It's more fun if you're all in the same room," Tenten said, trying to catch up with Neji's long strides.

Neji didn't say anything, but continued walking. Tenten took this as a no. "You can kick them out as soon as they start getting too loud," Tenten negotiated.

"Fine," Neji finally agreed, although was a bit unhappy with the sleeping arrangements.

Neji hoped that he could live to see the morning light on the day of the cursed 'sleepover'.

* * *

_Edit—Friday, April 09, 2010_

I want to delete this story so much at this moment. ): I don't get how so many of you liked it, but thank you so much for the reviews! I would've shot myself if I had to read something like this xD Hopefully my next story would be better...

**Hot Issue Intro – Big Bang**

WhippedCofee(:  
_...uh. Review please (: _


	8. Dec 1, Fri

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Thirteen_

**Chapter 8**—Shout

_Day Thirteen_

Thursday went by like a flash, and Friday rolled around quickly. Tenten walked happily to school, enjoying her time walking. Hinata had to be at school earlier this particular day, so she left with Neji in the morning. Even though she was alone, she couldn't help but feel happy.

Something good was going to happen.

...or maybe not.

She continued walking happily, that is, until a flyer came colliding with her face. Tenten immediately stopped walking, and yanked the flyer off her face.

"'Come and see the amazing fair… Opening on Christmas Eve, tickets on sale this Friday…'" Tenten dictated.

'_Friday…'_

"Friday!" Tenten yelled in recognition, sprinting the rest of the way to school.

She had forgotten it.

It, as in Misaki's birthday.

_Birthday_.

Tenten felt like smacking herself. It hadn't even been that long ago when she went out to buy a gift for him with Neji, and yet, she couldn't remember what she bought him. Did she wrap it yet? She frowned to herself as she finally arrived at school.

She would have to deal with that later.

"Hey Tenten!" An oddly familiar voice greeted her as soon as she stepped into the building.

"Naruto?"

He blinked at her, realizing that she just arrived. "Didn't you come to school with Hinata?" He asked curiously, wondering why she was by herself.

"Hinata said she had to do something, and left for school earlier. Do you know where she is?" Tenten asked, finally regaining her breath.

Naruto blinked at Tenten, rubbing his chin, thinking back to when he had seem the blushing Hyuuga. His eyes lit up as he suddenly remembered. "She's in the office!" He grinned to himself, feeling proud that he remembered. Tenten only gave him an awkward smile. "But she's busy right now. She was in a rush when I tried to say hi..." Naruto frowned at that, but shrugged. "Oh well. I have to go, Tenten!" He waved bye as he scrambled along the corridors of the school.

Tenten frowned as she stared after Narutos' retreating back. '_Why does it seem that everyone has something to do?' _Tenten thought with a sigh. She walked to her homeroom, gripping onto the paper tightly.

"Hey Tenten!" Misaki greeted Tenten brightly. He eyed the paper that seemed to be suffocating in Tenten's grip. "Why are you holding that paper so tightly…?"

Tenten blinked, not realizing she was nearly tearing the paper apart. "Oh…" She laughed nervously. "I'm just… excited about the fair!" Tenten said, shoving the paper under his nose as she sat down in her seat.

Misaki stared at the paper with interest. "A fair... sounds fun," he said, giving the paper back to Misaki.

"We should all go," Tenten suggested, thinking about how fun it would be. She suddenly thought of an idea and her eyes lit up as if a light bulb appeared over the top of her head. "You should go and buy the tickets!" She exclaimed.

"Why me?" Misaki frowned at the thought of having to go all the way to purchase tickets. "Get Kairi or someone to get them," he complained.

"Okay, then it's decided," Tenten said with a smile. "You're getting the tickets."

"But I never agreed—"

"Thank you Misaki!" Tenten said with a final smile, signaling the end of the conversation.

Misaki could only sigh.

* * *

"Hey Tenten!" Kairi greeted, waving her down to a seat.

"Hi Kairi," Tenten greeted back.

Class had yet to start, and half the class still hadn't arrived. By now, Tenten figured out that when the teacher wasn't in the classroom yet, students continue to loiter outside the classrooms, chatting with their friends. The students that were in the classroom, however, were out of their seats and with their friends. Small groups of two's and three's scattered alongside the walls.

"Okay, so I have everything ready for the party tonight," Kairi said proudly. "All we have to do is get Misaki get out of the house—"

"Mission complete," Tenten said with a smile. "I sent him out to get tickets for a fair on Christmas Eve."

Kairi frowned and mumbled something incoherent under her breath. "So, what fair on Christmas Eve?"

Tenten shrugged. "I found the flyer advertising for it..." Tenten laughed nervously. She realized how ridiculous it sounded now, now that she thought about it. "But I'm pretty sure it's legit!" She said, in her defense. "So uh, what's up with Naruto," Tenten quickly changed the subject as she saw Naruto scan the room before quickly running back out.

"No clue. You really shouldn't pay attention to him. He's probably helping out a teacher or something. He always does that," Kairi replied, jotting a quick note down in her notebook.

"Helping out a teacher?" Tenten furrowed her eyebrows. "Like extra credit?"

"Yeah."

"Why would he—"

"He's nearly close—or rather, he's failing nearly every single class. That is, except for gym," at that point, Kairi rolled her eyes, "but really, who could fail gym? That's just sad, if you ask me. But what's weird is that he gets a perfect grade in World's History," Kairi commented, making a weird face at that thought.

Tenten's mouth dropped open a little.

Now that was new.

"So, he's probably helping Kakashi-sensei with things like dances, clubs or activities. Either that or he's helping Kurenai-sensei with errands, or... dances along with Kakashi-sensei. They're in charge," Kairi answered before Tenten could even ask.

Tenten nodded her head along to show that she understood. At that moment, the teacher walked into the classroom. As soon as he saw Kairi (who greeted him with a big grin), his expression turned sour. "Akita-san, nice of you to join us today. Nothing important enough to skip class for this time, I presume?" Asuma asked, with a hint of irritation.

"Of course not! Whatever would make you think that...?" Kairi laughed nervously. "He's on to me!" She whispered to Tenten.

"Nice try. Detention for a week," Asuma ordered, heading towards the chalkboard.

Kairi frowned.

* * *

English quickly made its way into Tenten's day before she even noticed it. Surprisingly, Kakashi made it to class on time—half the students were mildly shocked at that, and they ran to their seats before he took joy in giving them detention for 'misbehavior'.

Every now and then he had pauses in his lesson. Nartuo accused him of staring into his 'adult' book; Kakashi denied it and claimed that he was trying to remember the rest of his lesson plans. Of course, that excuse went down the toilet when the book that he hid in his other book fell down on the floor. That caused quite a ruckus from Naruto.

But Kakashi silenced him with a week's worth of detention.

"And that concludes our lesson. You may now do whatever you choose to, while I learn from this fascinating book made for adults only," Kakashi said, sitting comfortably down on his chair. He stared at Naruto, who stood up with a finger pointed accusingly at his teacher. "And not a word from you, Naruto, or else I will make your detention three weeks. Would you like that, Naruto?" His eyes curved up into a smile as he enjoyed Narutos' flabbergasted expression.

He continued to gape like a fish at his teacher, to which Kakashi only chuckled. Soon enough, he turned his attention away from Naruto and towards his beloved book. Naruto's face had disbelief all over it. He soon got over that, however, when one of his classmates screamed out at him.

"So, you guys want to go on a fair on Christmas Eve...?" Tenten asked, turning her attention away from Naruto and Kakashi.

"Hn."

"Hn."

"...Great, I'll take that as a yes!"

* * *

Lunch came by rather soon, but Tenten was used to the day passing by quickly already. "So what time do I have to be at the house?" She asked as she took a seat at their usual lunch table.

"Actually, change of plans. We're having the party at the cafe. Shino and Kiba said that they would close the cafe earlier for us," Kairi explained. "On the bright side, it's so much easier there than to do it at my house. I won't have to clean up after you pigs!" She said happily as she dug into her mash potatoes.

Ino glared at Kairi. "Who are you calling a pig?" She asked with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"So what did you do to persuade Kiba?" Tenten asked with a sly smile, cutting into their conversation, not wanting another argument.

"I d-didn't do anything!" Kairi protested, blushing.

"Really? You blushing have us think otherwise."

"Y-You shouldn't tease Kairi like that..."

"Thank you! At least _someone _is nice enough to not make fun of me!"

"Even t-though she is denying her feelings..."

"Hinata! Not you too! You're all traitors, all of you!"

Everyone laughed at Kairi, while she continued to fight back a blush and protest against what the others were saying. The guys arrived a while later, a bit confused (although that was only Naruto) at what they were laughing at.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Nothing!" Kairi said quickly, not wanting the guys to know about it too. "We're just laughing at Ino's new hairstyle!"

Naruto stared at Ino curiously, who was fuming with anger. "Hey, it does look funny!" Naruto cracked up, even though there was nothing different with Ino's hair. Ino only glared at Kairi with hatred, but she said nothing—the only thing she did, was stab her lettuce like it was Kairi's face.

Stab. Stab. Stab.

Naruto stopped laughing and stared at Ino weirdly. "Why are you stabbing your lettuce...?" Naruto asked.

Ino looked up at Naruto, but said nothing. Instead, she found another fresh piece of lettuce, and imagined that it was Naruto, instead.

Stab. Stab. Stab.

"So uh," Tenten cut in, before Naruto could make Ino blow up the whole school. "Who wants to go to the fair on Christmas Eve?"

Ino suddenly stopped stabbing her poor lettuce. She brightened up at the idea—a fair? That would mean cute outfits, great good, and best of all... She took a sneak glance at Shikamaru, who was complaining about how it was too "troublesome".

"Let's all go!" She said excitedly. She was not going to let an opportunity like this go to waste.

"How troublesome..." Shikamaru continued to complain.

"A fair! We'll have so much fun, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said with the same excitement that Ino had.

"Uzumaki," Neji cut into his conversation threateningly. Naruto only laughed and smacked Neji on the back. "We can have fun too, Neji!" He obviously didn't understand what Neji was trying to say.

"Alright, so that's settled," Tenten said happily.

Maybe this day wouldn't go so badly after all.

* * *

"Today, we are going to bake cupcakes, cookies, cakes, and so on! This is based on all the things I've taught you so far, so I expect you guys to get it perfect! Okay?" Anko asked, her tone a bit too sweet on her last sentence.

Tenten shuddered from Anko's tone, as if it held dangerous hidden message that said, "if you mess up I will fail for for the rest of the semester".

"The Christmas bake sale is right around the corner, and I will not put up with any mess ups!" She shouted, scaring half the students in the class. Tenten felt that that was directed towards her, but she couldn't tell for sure. "You won't believe how many desserts they are last year..." Anko continued on, shaking her head. "Those ungrateful brats..." She muttered under her breath. As soon as she finished her little 'pep talk', she began circling the room like a hawk, eyeing the ingredients and the amounts used for baking. Once in a while, she would bark at a poor students who used a slight amount more of some flour for cookies.

"What does she mean by that?" Tenten asked Kairi as she thought back to what Anko said.

"Last year, this elective wasn't on any of our choices. The things that were brought to the bake sale were either store bought or home-made. Anko-sensei and Kurenai-sensei made most of things, and nearly all of the students wolfed down the food like they didn't eat for a decade..." She laughed at the memory that Tenten didn't have.

Tenten continued to make her cupcakes, hoping that they wouldn't burn this time. Kairi occasionally looked over to supervise, but other than that, the two were working independently.

"HEY!" Anko suddenly shouted, which made Tenten nearly add salt into her cupcake batch. "No freebies in here! If you want to eat something, at least try harder to not let me see it!" Anko shouted, confiscating a brownie that a girl was trying to eat.

How a teacher like that wind up teaching a baking class, Tenten would never know.

"Anko-sensei could come off tough soemtimes, but she's a really good baker," Kairi explained, looking in the direction that Tenten was staring at—which, of course, was Anko. "She was the basketball coach last year. And a volleyball coach the year before that. I know, I know, she doesn't look like those type of people that bake right?" Kairi nodded along with Tenten's silence. "Baking doesn't seem like her kind of thing... Violence suits her more, doesn't it?" Kairi muttered to Tenten, not wanting Anko to hear their conversation.

Tenten only nodded.

"So that's what you think?" Anko asked, popping out from behind Kairi.

"A-Anko-sensei!" Kairi yelled, screaming out in surprise, dropping the cream that she had in her hand. Tenten swore she saw Kairi's face turn a little blue.

"Well for your information, baking has been one of my specialties! Why else do you think that the bake sale sold out in less than a day?" Anko asked.

"M-Maybe you put some crack in there..." Kairi mumbled under her breath.

"Detention. Monday. Be glad I'm only giving you one day," Anko stated, narrowing her eyes when she heard Kairi's comment. She suddenly flashed Kairi a foxy grin as she checked up on the other kids.

"I—But! I already have detention on Monday!" Kairi protested.

"Why, then you'll just have to stay for another hour," Anko replied back.

Tenten somehow guessed that Anko had another grin on her face as she said that.

* * *

"Alright, my youthful students!" Gai cried. "I have some terrible news!"

Chatter rose amongst the students that were sitting on the gym floor, and the bleachers. "Oh, this must be good," Ino said excitedly.

"But didn't he say 'terrible'?" Tenten asked, giving Ino a strange look.

"Usually when he says terrible, it's the opposite," Kairi explained. "I wonder what wonderful news he's going to give us this time..." She said, hardly repressing a grin from showing on her face. "I hope the gym is going to be demolished so we'll have no more gym!"

"I doubt that," Ino scoffed, checking her nails for any chips. Satisfied, she glanced up at Gai.

"Now, as you know, our youthful principal—"

"She isn't anywhere near youthful!" Naruto yelled out, gaining a few snickers from the audience.

"How I admire your youthfulness!" Gai shouted, praising Naruto's shout out. "Now quiet down so I can tell you all the terrible news!" The students eventually stopped laughing, giving Gai their full fledged attention. Or rather, half of it, anyways.

"Our youthful principal has forbidden the girl and boy gym!" Gai shouted, as if it was the worst news he had recieved.

"That's terrible news?" Ino asked in disbelief. "I thought it was something better since he used the word terrible!" She complained, stretching out her crossed legs. "What a stupid rule," she muttered to herself.

A few boys grumbled and looked slightly mad. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were upset at the fact that they didn't have the chance to check out girls anymore. Vice versa for the girls; a bit looked peeved that they couldn't be in the same gym as a few of the hot guys.

"Yes!" Kairi yelled up happily as she pumped her fist in the air. "I won't have to see Misaki's ugly face this period at all! I think God loves me!"

"Hm, and I would say that same for you. I won't have to see your pimple filled face this period either," Misaki retorted back.

"There's only one!" Kairi exclaimed, slapping her hand onto her face. "You want to see a pimple face? Look in the mirror; I can assure you that yours has ten times the amount that my face has!"

Misaki glared at Kairi. "They're on the verge of going away..." He muttered under his breath.

"I wasn't done yet, my youthful students! I know how much you want to get started on those 15 laps!" Gai cried.

"Gai-sensei! You are forever now and in the future my idol!" Lee cried out.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Oh would you two give it a rest already?" Someone from the crowd snapped.

Gai straightened up from his hug. "Like I was saying before, due to Tsunade-sama's new rule, the school has been closed down for renovation of a new gym!" Gai-sensei struck a pose, while his teeth went 'ping'!

Ino brightened up at those words. Finally, something she could be happy about. "Renovation? New gym? Closed? WOOOHOOO! VACATION!" Ino yelled, jumping up from the floor. At that, everyone started jumping around and screaming excitedly. Everyone that is, excluding the people who are too cool to do that.

"School will be out for a week, or less!" Gai shouted over the overjoyed kids.

"Oh, how I will miss you Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted.

"Lee, do not fear, for we shall see each other again very soon!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

And this continued on and on and on and on, with waves crashing on a rock they were standing on, and a sunset appearing over their heads as they embraced each other lovingly. But, we don't want to get into detail, now do we?

"So, what are you going to do over the vacation?" Kairi asked curiously.

"Spa!" Ino sounded like she was in heaven.

"Do whatever Hinata's family do over vacations." Tenten replied. Then she thought about it for a moment. "That is, if they want me to do whatever they do…" She said, scratching her head.

"Say, what** does **your family do…?" Ino asked Hinata.

"Well… we usually g-go off to our private beach house in the s-summer, and we g-go to a ski lounge in the w-winter that my f-family owns." Hinata replied.

Ino's ears perked up at the sound of 'ski lounge'. _That _was so much better than a one day spa. "Alright then it's settled… Let's go to Hinata's family ski lounge for the vacation!"

* * *

"Okay, so you know what to do?" Kairi asked.

Classes ended a few minutes ago, and the group met up in front of the school. Misaki had yet to show up, and Kairi was going over what they were going to do—or at least, what they planned to do. Kairi was a bit nervous to actually put it in action.

Everyone nodded, excluding the usual people, aka, Sasuke, Neji and Shikamaru. From behind, Misaki spotted Kairi with the rest of the group. "Hey guys. Am I supposed to go buy the tickets now?" He asked. When Kairi nodded to him, he sighed. "Can't someone come with me?"

"Be a man," Kairi deadpanned. "Are you scared to go alone?" She taunted, knowing that it would only drive him to show her that he wasn't scared. She received a glare from Misaki, and she only grinned in return. "Don't get lost!" She said as he nodded.

He took his time and walked slowly towards the direction that the flyer stated. Everyone else watched as his back disappeared from view. They stood silently until they were sure that Misaki was not going to show up again.

"So, let's get to it!" Kairi yelled, as the group split into different directions. Ino and Hinata went with Kairi to get the decorations. Neji, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Naruto went ahead to the café to set up the food and Tenten went back to the Hyuuga Manor to get the present.

It was at least an hour later when they all assembled at the cafe again. Decorations were already hung up, the food was set on the tables, and nothing looked out of place. Kairi smiled at the way her plan was going about smoothly.

"Everything looks alright." Kairi concluded, looking around the café.

"Yeah, I did a great job didn't I…?" Kiba teased.

"Yes," Kairi said, nodding, "I did." Kairi teased back, flashing a grin at Kiba. Kiba rolled his eyes as he walked over to the table, shifting some of the trays of food around. Kairi walked to the counter where Shino stood.

"Naruto, stop stuffing your face! At least save some for the rest of us!" Ino scolded, trying to take the plate of food away from him.

"But I'm hungry! And you don't have any ramen here!" Naruto whined. "What kind of party is this if there's no ramen!"

"Just give him the food so he'll stop being troublesome…" Shikamaru said, positioning himself on the seat.

"Oh fine, here!" Ino said, throwing the food back at Naruto. Which, by the way, was not one of her brightest choices.

Flying in the air, it hit Naruto right there on his face. Ino widened her eyes, as she put her hand over her mouth in shock. "I honestly didn't mean to do that! I'm sorry - Hey! Don't you **dare **pick up that—!"

Not even getting to finish her sentence, Naruto picked up food from his face, and aimed it straight for Ino. Luckily, Ino ducked in time, but unluckily… It hit Sasuke right in the face.

"…Dobe!" Sasuke yelled, growling in anger. Naruto looked sheepishly at Sasuke, putting his hands up in defeat. "Blame is on Ino! If she hadn't ducked it wouldn't have hit you in the face!" He cried out. Sasuke glared at him not bothering to listen to his useless rambles. He took a handful of spaghetti and then threw it at Naruto's face.

Naruto's eyes widened a bit, but still ducked. He danced a little dance as he congratulated himself with his quick reflexes. However, he failed to realize that it hit Tenten on the shoulder. Tenten looked at her shirt in shock, but recovered quickly as she glared at Naruto. "…Naruto!"

He suddenly stopped dancing as he felt a growing aura of hate behind him. He turned around slowly, laughing nervously. "Hey! It wasn't my fault! Teme was the one who threw it!" Naruto protested.

"Hey! STOP! Misaki is gonna come in any second and I do **not**—"

A bunch of bunched up food went flying straight onto her face. Some of it even went into her mouth as she was talking. "Okay… Who threw that?" Kairi yelled, wiping the food out of her eyes.

Everyone pointed at a different person, and that different person pointed to the other person that pointed to them.

"I won't fall for that again!" Kairi yelled, and started throwing food around the café.

"Hey! I'm not going to clean that up!" Kiba shouted over the screams.

Shino, being the only smart one around there, walked into the employee's room and sat patiently on the chair, where he would not get food all over himself. But before he could get to the door, a meatball came flying to his back. Ah well… so much for not getting food on himself.

—

Varieties of food were being flung into the air, as a few of them tried dodging them. Some of them laughed as food hit others, but soon quickly shut up when the food hit themselves, which made the others laugh at them. A few other people… were just trying to find a place to hide.

"Alright stop this now!" Ino cried, waving her hands up in the air. "This food is so not good for my hair!" Ino screeched.

And some… didn't really care… "How troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered, as he got smacked on the face with sauce.

And Neji… just stood there watching with an amused look on his face. He, being the smart one, didn't pick up any food, and wasn't hit with any, either. And he liked it this way.

"Hey Neji…" A voice said, making Neji turn to the direction of the face.

Instantly, his face was smeared by a cupcake. Tenten had smashed a cupcake on his forehead and smeared it around his face, which was a pretty hilarious sight. When her hand let go of the cupcake, it was still on his face (his forehead, actually). She laughed at his expression, which was pretty much covered in frosting.

"What… are you doing?"

"You seemed to be missing out on the fun!" Tenten said, grinning.

Even though Neji couldn't see, he grabbed another cupcake nearby, and slammed Tenten's face into it. Too bad he missed, and the cupcake was slammed into her forehead. Neji wiped off the cupcake on his face.

"Nice aim, genius!" Tenten said, as she grabbed a cupcake and was about to smash it into Neji's face.

"I still got you." Neji said, dodging when Tenten wanted to grab Neji's face.

"What is going on in here?" A new voice asked.

Everyone halted, and turned to the direction of the voice. "…Surprise…?" Kairi said in a weak voice.

"This really is a surprise…" Misaki said, looking around. He suddenly grinned widely at them. He quickly took out a camera, snapping a picture of the chaos. "For the yearbook next year!"

Hinata straightened up, picking pieces of spaghetti off from her shirt. Naruto wiped some sauce off his face, and stared at it before sticking his finger into his mouth. His expression showed pure satisfaction as he tried to look for the plate with the sauce. Shikamaru could care less, like always, and was starting to drift off to sleep, with a meatball on top of his head. Sasuke—well, he was only glaring daggers into Misaki's face. Neji followed the suit, although some of his glares were directed towards Tenten. Tenten blushed a bit as she tried wiping the cupcake frosting off her face. Ino was the only one who hadn't taken it lightly—she nearly clawed out Misaki's hair screaming, "I can't look like that in the yearbook!"

"Happy Birthday!" Kairi said, after she finished getting rice off of her face.

Someone had thrown an onigiri at her.

"My birthday?" Misaki asked, confused, as he successfully managed to stick the camera back down in his pocket.

"Yes your birthday!" Kairi laughed at him, "or did you forget it?"

"Today's not my birthday..." Misaki said, looking at Kairi like she had ten heads. He suddenly laughed, realizing what had happened.

"Why are you laughing?" Kairi asked irritably. She didn't appreciate her efforts being laughed at, especially by her brother.

"It's not my birthday," Misaki explained.

"What do you mean it's not your birthday?" Ino yelled, as she finally gave up trying to take the camera away from Misaki, "Are you telling me that we went through all this for nothing?" She pointed to her food covered self.

"Today is your birthday," Kairi said. "Stop joking around!"

"My birthday was yesterday," Misaki said, shaking his head. "Some sister you are..."

Kairi hesitated in what she was going to say. "Woops..." She said, laughing nervously. "So that's why you weren't home yesterday..."

"I can't believe this was all for nothing," Ino comaplined as she touched the stain on her shirt. "This cost more than what you cost!" She exploded.

"Although it's late... why don't w-we just continue with the party for Misaki-kun?" Hinata suggested.

Sasuke grunted, and Neji only glared. Shino came out of the employee's room, seeing as though everything calmed down already. Kiba only grumbled incoherent words to himself as he tried to get pieces of unidentified food off his uniform—it was coming out of his paycheck if he got his uniform dirty. Naruto continued to look for the delicious sauce that covered his face, and Hinata was still trying to get pieces of spaghetti off her shirt. Tenten felt an odd feeling in her shoe as she walked towards the bathroom to clean up her face—and to her surprise (not really), there were food stuck in her shoe.

Shikamaru had fallen asleep—although Ino felt that it was necessary to smother his face in sauce—that exact same sauce that Naruto was looking for.

"Hey!" He protested, grabbing the sauce from Ino.

She only stared weirdly as him.

* * *

_Edit—Sunday, April 11, 2010_

I hate jellybeans.

That's all I have to say.

...Fine, not really. So, I won't list the things I've changed. I suggest just skimming through the chapter—I don't think much changed, although I only fixed the fluidity of this chapter... I think. :l

**Shout – Se7en**

WhippedCoffee(:  
_Swing back and forth like a rocking chair :-)_


	9. Dec 2, Sat

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Fourteen_

**Chapter 9**—Jinxed

_Day Fourteen_

Tenten woke up with a yawn, and squinted as she stared out the window to her left. She looked at the clock on her right on top of the table, which read 9:00 AM. It was still early—she stayed in bed, in a daze, for what seemed to her for five minutes. She looked back at the clock, and her eyes widened at the time.

It was 10:00 AM.

How in the world did she mistaken five minutes for an hour?

Tenten shook her head as she scrambled to get up from her tangled bed sheets. That, of course, didn't end so well. She fell onto the floor with a loud _thud_. She moaned in pain, and carefully untangled herself from the blankets. She got up tiredly and headed towards her closet.

Today seemed to be a bad day.

She opened the door to the closet, and gaped as soon as she saw every piece of clothing all over the place. She thought she had organized everything already, the day before. Did she? Tenten frowned to herself. She didn't remember anymore. She sighed as she picked out a shirt from a rack and some pants that stuck out oddly on the side.

Maybe she should reorganize it again, then.

Realizing that she needed a shower, she walked into the bathroom. She turned on the shower, and stepped inside. As if someone had a grudge against her, she groaned to find out that today was _definitely _not her day. She shrieked as she felt the ice cold water touch her skin, and she immediately turned it off.

Yes.

Today was definitely a horrid day.

* * *

—**11:00 AM**—

"What t-took you so long?" Hinata asked, as she saw Tenten enter the dining area.

Even with a shower, Tenten's hair still looked disheveled. Her clothes were a bit wrinkled—Hinata didn't dare to ask her what happened. Tenten grumbled something about, "evil blankets", "cold shower", "a hair dryer that seemed to be alive" and "someone's trying to get me" before she sat down on the chair.

Hinata stared at Tenten with a confused expression, but didn't press any further. Tenten ignored the look Hinata was giving her, and started eating her breakfast. As soon as she put the food in her mouth, Neji came down the stairs, looking a bit irritated. Hinata was about to ask what happened, but Neji beat her to it.

"Someone's horrid scream was quite irritating this morning."

Hinata gave him a small smile, twiddling her thumbs. "Where are you going, Neji-niisan?" She asked, taking notice of his attire.

"Out."

Tenten paid no attention to Neji as he exited, and kept poking her eggs with her fork It tasted a bit weird—maybe it was just her. She was, of course, having a very bad day. She was probably just imagining things. She stuck the egg in her mouth after chopping it to pieces with her fork.

Well, she always wanted to have a near life death experience.

"Tenten!" Hinata squeaked, her eyes widening a bit. "A-Are you okay?" Hinata didn't know what to do—she reached out her hands to help Tenten, but the latter only waved her away while pounding on her chest. "I'm fine," Tenten remarked bitterly. "There was abit too much sugar in my eggs," Hinata could hear the darkening tone in Tenten's voice.

"I-I'll go talk to the chef—"

"it's fine." Tenten eyed the glass of milk on the side, and immediately chugged it down to wash away the odd taste in her mouth.

But of course, that had to go wrong too.

"Why is this expired?"

* * *

—**12:00 PM**—

Tenten sighed as she looked around her room. It was a total mess. Clothes were thrown all over the room, and some stuff animals stuck out from some of the clothes on the floor. Since when did she even have stuff animals? Tenten shook her head, deciding that she would get an even bigger migraine than she already had if she thought any more. She looked back sullenly at her closet; so far, her attempt at cleaning it out was not going so well. It only seemed like the mess that was inside her closet transported itself to the rest of her room. As Tenten bent down to pick up a pair of jeans, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Tenten muttered distractedly, trying not to trip over the pile of clothes that stood in her way of grabbing the jeans.

Kairi poked her head in and grinned as soon as she saw the mess. "Hah, I knew it. Not all girls are neat freaks. In your face, Misaki," Kairi said to herself, seeming a bit rather proud. She took a step into the room, avoiding the clothes that were strewn all over the floor. "Let me guess. You got mad at everything while you were cleaning your closet and you threw everything on the floor," Kairi bounced up and down on Tenten's bed as soon as she came in contact with it.

"Haha, very funny," Tenten said, feeling a bit proud as she managed to grab the pair of jeans. "What did you come here for?"

"I can't visit my wonderful friend?" Kairi frowned at Tenten, although she knew that Tenten couldn't see it. "Just kidding. You're not that wonderful. So anyways," Kairi said quickly, before Tenten could make a retort. "I called you before, but Hanabi said that you were PMSing and that if I valued my life, I shouldn't come in contact with you. That kid's hilarious sometimes," Kairi commented, finally settling down on the bed.

Tenten's mouth jerked into a frown as soon as she heard what Hanabi said about her. She slightly turned to glare at the door, as if Hanabi was behind it. "I'm not on my period," Tenten said defensively. "It's just that today is just a horrible day..." Tenten grumbled as she finally gave up on reaching for another pair of jeans. She moved on to the t-shirts that were in the tangled up bundle of clothes.

"What happened?" Kairi asked curiously.

"Someone up there hates me."

Kairi grinned, satisfied with Tenten's vague answer. "That happens to me all the time..."

"Oh, screw this..." Tenten muttered to herself, kicking a t-shirt away from her. She was frustrated—she when did she even have this many clothes to begin with? It was as if they kept multiplying. Like bunnies.

But on second thought, Tenten liked bunnies. They were cute, soft creatures... that multiplied faster than the speed of light. Okay, so that was an exaggeration—but to Tenten, it seemed quick enough. A week passed from the last time she saw Mr. Fluffy (in her defense, it wasn't her suggestion), and he already had two small bunnies to make up his family. Reproduction was a wonderful thing.

Or so Tenten thought.

"Let's go get snacks for the sleepover," Tenten said, kicking away the clothes that were in her way as she headed towards the doors.

"What about your room?" Kairi made a face as she looked around the pigsty. "I wouldn't call this 'clean'..."

Tenten scratched her head, giving Kairi a sheepish smile.

"I forgot there were maids."

* * *

—**1:30 PM**—

"So, where's Ino?" Tenten asked as they walked down the aisle in the supermarket.

"S-She's busy at the shop," Hinata replied. "But she said she can still come to the sleepover..." Hinata reached for a bag of chips that caught her eye, and silently put it in the cart.

Tenten looked at all the junk food they have gotten so far with distaste. This was going to add on the pounds—but of course, since she was an athletic type of person, burning those calories was going to be no problem. Tenten sighed as she imagined Ino's reaction after the sleepover—she could feel a headache coming in the later days.

Kairi frowned as she saw Tenten's stare at the chips. "Don't hurt them!" She cried, grabbing the cart away from Tenten. "I saw the way you're glaring at them. Just because they're all fat and sugar, it doesn't give you the right to criticize them!" Kairi rushed ahead, protecting her beloved 'babies'.

"...A-Ano, Kairi—"

"Leave her, Hinata. She needs alone time with her soul mates."

* * *

—**3:00 PM**—

As soon as the three returned back to the Manor, Kairi collapsed on the floor. Tenten and Hinata were oblivious to Kairi's distress as they calmly set the bags down near the tables. They continued to unpack as Kairi graoned with happiness (of the fact that she didn't have to do anymore walking).

Kairi caught glimpses of their conversation as they unloaded the bags of chips into bowls. "Why are we having a sleepover in Neji's room?" Kairi asked curiously, still lying on the floor. A maid walked by and stared curiously at Kairi, but Kairi only pretended to not notice her.

"Well I would have it in my room, but then I wouldn't want anyone walking into 'hell'," Tenten said, exaggerating her room a bit.

Kairi sighed as she got annoyed with the constant stares from the maids that walked in and out. She groaned as she felt the muscles in her leg scream with pain with every step she took. As soon as she reached the two, she reached over to grab a chip from the bowl. Of course, Tenten saw this coming and smacked her hand away, making Kairi drop the chip. "Tenten!" Kairi complained.

"D-Did you ask Neji-niisan?" Hinata asked. It was her first times hearing this piece of information, and to be truthful, it made her worry. Neji did _not _like people in his room, no matter how close they were with him. Although there were a few exceptions, but usually he got a bit irritated when anyone entered his room without permission.

"...Uh," Tenten laughed sheepishly as she scratched her head. "It can't be that bad, right?" She asked slowly, glancing at Hinata. Hinata had a look of uncertainty cross her face, but it was gone as soon as it came. It was only then that she rememebered the first time she met Neji.

She went into his room.

"You seem a bit tense," Kairi broke into her thoughts. "What, does Neji kill people in his room or something?" Kairi asked, managing to steal some chips as Tenten was busy daydreaming.

"W-What?" Hinata widened her eyes at that comment, as if shocked that Kairi would even suggest such a thing.

"Just kidding," Kairi said, stretching out her legs. "Ahh..." She sighed in satisfaction. "Oh, I remember now. Don't worry, it's not going to turn out like last time," Kairi grinned at the memory as she patted HInata on the shoulder, managing to steal more chips. "It's going to be much worse!"

Hinata looked horror-stricken as soon as those words left Kairi's mouth. "You're not helping, Kairi," Tenten glared at Kairi, realizing that some of the chips were stolen. "And stop inhaling everything you put near your mouth!"

"It's not my fault you guys haven't fed me all day!" Kairi complained.

Suddenly, a bowl of chips magically appeared in front of her face.

"There. Now shut up."

* * *

—**6:00 PM**—

"And that was how it happened," Kairi concluded, fishing her latest so called 'gossip'. "I know! It made me speechless too!" She cried, when she realized that none of the two were making any sort of response to her.

Tenten only rolled her eyes at the lame topic that Kairi picked, while Hinata gave a half-hearted smile to make Kairi feel better. The doorbell rang, and Tenten craned her neck to see who it was as the maid opened the door.

"I'm here!" Ino sang as she pranced towards the three girls. "So what have you guys been doing for those six hours that I wasn't around for?" She asked curiously as she plopped down on the seat next to Hinata.

"Well," Kairi said with emphasis, "I just finished telling—"

"Oh no, don't tell me. It's that stupid news you call gossip, right?" Ino turned towards Hinata for confirmation. As soon as she saw Hinata's hesitation to agree with Ino (although the adjective 'stupid' was a bit harsh in Hinata's view), Ino shook her head at Kairi. "I understand, Hinata. You don't have to say anymore."

Kairi glared at Ino, which only made Ino glare back. "A student getting caught because of plagiarism is _not_ gossip." Before Kairi could protest, however, Ino cleverly picked up a pillow and threw it at Kairi's face, preventing her to speak any further.

"There, that should shut you up for about five seconds."

Kairi inwardly twitched, and brushed the pieces of hair that came loose from her ponytail away from her face. "It was only _three_ seconds."

"Oh, big difference."

"It is when your average is a _75_!"

"Hey, that was only because I didn't do so well on the tests!"

"And the projects too!"

"Hey, I got higher than you on the projects!"

"Well of course you did! You _copied_ it from me **and** Hinata!" Kairi retorted back. "You're bound to get a higher grade since you copied off of Hinata!"

"No I didn't! I only copied the answers! I did the work by myself! And some of them were correct too!"

"And by some, you mean one!"

"OKAY!" Tenten shouted over the two. They paused their argument as they glared at each other. "Enough arguing…" Tenten said. Did it have something to do with age? Stress? Tenten sighed to herself as she rubbed her temples. She needed some aspirin to get rid of the growing headache.

"She started it!" Ino and Kairi said at the same time.

"H-Have some chips, Ino-chan, Kairi-chan," Hinata said, pushing a bowl of chips into their faces. That method was proven effective—their attentions were soon diverted as they ate the chips.

"Good thinking, Hinata."

* * *

—**6:30 PM**—

The doorbell rang for the nth time. It was really only the second time it rang, but Tenten was feeling a bit off today. "The guys are here!" Ino shouted, running to the door, forgetting the fact that there were maids who were opening the door. Tenten and Kairi paused in their conversation to stare after Ino, but resumed their talk on sticks quickly afterwards. Hinata was in the bathroom, changing into her pajamas.

"Let's get this party started!" Naruto yelled as he jumped into the Manor with a bowl of instant ramen in his hands.

"Naruto, you sound drunk," Tenten commented as she looked up at the four guys who were walking towards them.

"That's because he _is_. How troublesome..." Shikamaru sighed as he lazily plopped down on the sofa. He immediately slouched and closed his eyes, ready for a nap. His short-lived dream was gone, however, when Ino quickly slapped him on the shoulder to wake him up.

"You guys went to a _bar_?" Kairi asked in an astonished tone. "Why didn't you guys take me!" She complained, pushing away the bowl of chips. "It would've been much better than that crap I've been eating so far..."

Tenten made a mental note to beat Kairi in the morning (or when she was sleeping).

"Someone spiked the drinks," Neji explained, crossing his arms as he leaned against a wall.

"And dobe here had 10 glasses of it." Sasuke said, sitting on a couch.

"Hey! It was good too…" Naruto slurred, as he suddenly dropped to the ground.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, getting up.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, getting up.

"This reeks," Ino made a face at the unconscious Naruto as she held her nose. "Why don't you take him upstairs or something?" She said, waving Hinata towards Naruto.

Hinata wavered a bit as she took a step towards Naruto. Sasuke sighed, and decided to help her as he swung Naruto's arm over his shoulder while Hinata took the other half. As the two proceeded to drag Naruto towards the stairs, Ino smiled, happy that the extensive stench was gone.

"Let's watch movie!" She said excitedly, dashing towards the television. No one said a word as she fiddled with the stack of DVDs near the television set.

"Neji..." Tenten mumbled, elbowing Neji in the stomach. "Do you think she'll break it?"

At that moment, there was snap.

"...Oops?"

* * *

—**7:00 PM**—

"Don't go in there... Don't go in there!" Ino shrieked, clutching onto Shikamaru's arm. She whimpered as the girl in the movie did exactly the opposite of what she said. "She went in there!"

"We all have eyes, Ino..." Shikamaru said tiredly as he tried to lessen the grip on his arm. He winced as he noticed that every time he tried to pry the fingers off of his arm, it only got tighter. He could feel his blood circulation getting cut off.

"How dumb can this get?" Tenten muttered, as she tore her eyes away from the two. Her eyes rested on the big screen, and she seemed immune to what was playing.

Kairi got up from the floor, looking around as she ignored the shrieks of Ino and the "troublesome's" of Shikamaru. A small action caught her eye—a smirk started to grow on her face as she saw Tenten edge closer to Neji.

_'Time to put my plan into action.'_

"I thought you said this was dumb," Neji commented as he eyed Tenten's very so subtle movements towards him.

"It is," Tenten said, ignoring his doubtful stare. "Jeez!" She suddenly jumped when the music turned scarier in the movie. She turned to glare at Neji, before he could say anything. "It caught me off guard, okay?"

Neji only smirked.

Tenten suddenly froze as she thought she heard a small creak. "...Did you hear that?" She whispered, ignoring the screams of Ino and the girl on screen. "Did you hear that?" She whispered again.

Neji raised an eyebrow. "You're hearing things," he concluded.

There it was again.

"You don't hear it?"

"Just watch the movie, Tenten."

"But I hear it!"

"No, you don't. You're hearing things."

"There it is again! You really don't hear it?"

"You're hallucinating."

"Holy crap!" She suddenly jumped and latched onto Neji's arm. Once she realized what she did, she coughed and took her hands slowly off of his arm. "I'm going crazy," she concluded to Neji, as she shook her head several times to get the creaking noise out of her head.

"It's the ghost!" Ino suddenly shrieked as she shoved her face into Shikamaru's arm, as if hiding behind him would do her any good.

"There are no such things as ghosts, Ino," Shikamaru said, finding himself in a very awkward position as Ino attempted to hide behind Shikamaru.

"If there isn't, then why is there creepy creaking?" Ino's words were muffled as she refused to come out from behind Shikamaru.

"It's probably Sasuke or Hinata," Tenten reassured Ino (it was like she was trying to reassure herself). She looked at Neji nervously, but his attention was already directed towards the movie.

_'I hope he isn't mad...'_

"Just watch the movie," Shikamaru said, eventually shoving Ino from behind him. He was satisfied when she reluctantly forced herself to watch the movie. Even after the commotion was resolved, Tenten couldn't help but stare back and forth between the television and the stairs.

"Run already!" Ino shouted at the movie. Only minutes had passed, and she was already engrossed into the movie. Tenten only wished she had that short of an attention span, too. "can't you see that he's trying to kill you?"

"How troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered as he shifted in his seat.

"Can't you see that he's not your boyfriend?" Ino yelled, nearly falling off her seat from the suspense.

"Who's not whose boyfriend?"

"Be quiet Shikamaru!" Ino said irritably.

"I didn't say anything."

Ino froze, looking back at Shikamaru. His eyes were closed, and he looked like he was on the verge of drifting off to sleep. "...Neji? Tenten?" She squeaked.

"Does it sound like I have a guy's voice?" Tenten snapped. Her paranoia got the better of her—she was too jumpy at every noise.

"I can't believe that you guys started to watch without me!"

"IT'S THE GHOST!"

"WHAT? Where?" The same voice from the beginning screamed as well.

"YOU'RE THE GHOST!"

It was official. Ino completely lost it.

The lights flickered on, and Ino turned towards the person who turned on the lights. Ino blinked, "Hinata? What are you doing here?" Tenten could hardly contain her scoff at her complete personality change. "Then that means the ghost is..."

"...Sorry, Naruto."

* * *

"So, where's Kairi?" Tenten asked.

The group had moved to Neji's room after the cutting the movie short. Ino decided that watching a horror movie was beyond stupid—her exact words were, "Who's the idiot that suggested watching a movie?" No one had the heart (or rather, no one really bothered) to tell her that it was herself who wanted to watch a movie.

With that, the group sat in a circle on the big bedroom.

Tenten was surprised—Neji had taken the news better than she thought. He made almost no complaint when she announced that they would all go to Neji's room to have the rest of the sleepover. She was suspicious though—why did Hinata seem to think it was like taboo to go into his room?

"I s-saw her on her w-way to the bathroom. She said she w-was going to be b-back soon." Hinata replied, leaning on the bed while sitting on the floor.

"What do we do now?" Tenten asked.

The lights suddenly flickered shut. "…Not the answer that I was expecting…" Tenten muttered sarcastically.

The lights then flickered back on, and off again. It flickered on and off once more, which annoyed Ino. "What is going on here?" Ino asked, making a face at the ceiling. "Is there something wrong with your electricity, Hinata?"

"Troublesome… it's probably outside. It's been raining nonstop during the movie." Shikamaru said, looking out the window.

"Is your place… haunted… by any chance, Hinata…?" Tenten asked nervously. Even though it was confirmed that Naruto had been the one who was mistaken for being a 'ghost', she couldn't help but feel eerily freaked out by the rather large Hyuuga Manor.

Hinata thought about it for a while before answering. "It was a while ago..." She answered quietly. "There w-was a woman who owned the house before us..."

* * *

_Edit—Saturday, April 24, 2010_

It would be good to skim through this chapter I guess—unless you know, you're lazy. I'm totally fine with that (: Like I said, the main point is there, I just changed around some words & moments. &Like I said: these notes are meant for readers who've read this before the re-edit. If you're a new reader, just ignore this and continue reading :D

! Aghmang.

WhippedCoffee(:  
_Review Plox;) – Now the party don't start till I walk in..._


	10. Dec 2, Sat Part II

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Fourteen_

**Chapter 10**—Busted

Everyone looked at Hinata with a shock expression. Everyone that is, except for Neji, Sasuke and Shikamaru.

"Are you sure…?" Tenten asked, her eyes widening.

"Yeah…" Ino said, eyeing Hinata.

She nodded timidly. Neji stared at her. "None of the Hyuugas told me this place was haunted." Neji said, crossing his arms and sitting up on his bed. She was lying—she had to be. Neji knew that no 'old woman' owned the house. It was built by contractors that Hiashi hired.

"U-Uh…" Hinata stammered as she twiddled her thumbs. "H-Hanabi-chan told me it. She said that she heard from the m-maids that it was r-really top secret. None of them wanted a-anyone else to find out that there's a-an old spirit that's watching over us..."

She was lying.

Neji opened his mouth to reprimand her for speaking of such idiocy. But of course, Sasuke beat him to it. "Do you believe this crap?" He narrowed his eyes at the Hyuuga girl, but left it at that.

Hinata was caught off guard with his choice of words, but Naruto snickered. "Aww! Is Sasuke-teme scared?" Naruto yelled, laughing at Sasuke as well as pointing at him.

Sasuke glared at him. "What about you? You were trembling just a while ago," he retorted back. Naruto countered that with sticking out his tongue, to which Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"It amuses me at how immature you guys can get…" Shikamaru said with a sigh. He was lying on the floor, propped up by Neji's bed.

"Can we please get on with the story?" Ino snapped.

All eyes were fixed on Hinata, while she was glancing around nervously. "Well…"

* * *

"Almost got it…" Kairi mumbled, struggling with some kind of strange device.

Kairi had taken a detour when she came out of the bathroom. Before joining the others for the movie, she had Hinata take her around the Hyuuga Manor, familiarizing with it. Kairi was headed towards the small room that the maids put their brooms in, but instead, she ended up in what seemed like the basement. It would just have to do though—she was running out of time, and according to the plan she hatched with Hinata, the latter would be telling the story of the ridiculous 'old woman' right about now.

She bit her lip as she growled out in frustration. She banged her hand on the wall, and groaned. The strange device was giving her a headache—she only wanted to flip the switch shut, but it kept popping back in its original place. Did she have to glue it to make it stay, or what? "C'mon! I don't have all night you know!"

"Need help?" A voice asked.

When Kairi heard the voice, she spun around immediately. "Holy shit!" She yelled, as soon as she saw who it was. She banged her head on the closed electricity box and groaned in pain.

Kiba laughed and took a few steps back as he still laughed at her. Kairi winced, and rubbed the part of her head that banged the metal box. She glared at him, "Don't _ever_ do that again!" Kairi said, blushing slightly, as she remembered the position that they were in.

Kiba had been sneaking up silently behind Kairi while she was struggling with the box. Not noticing Kiba behind him, Kairi had continued to do her things, while Kiba smirked and scared her. When Kairi turned around, however, they were so close that their noses were practically touching.

Kiba laughed again. Kairi glared at him, once again. "You're a mess! Is it really pouring that hard outside?" Kairi switched the subject, looking at Kiba from head to toe.

Kiba looked like a drowned cat. He was wearing a raincoat, but that didn't seem to help much. His raincoat was soaked to his bones, and his sneakers were sloshing rain water all over the basement floor. His hair was floppy and soggy looking, and water was streaming on his face down to his dripping raincoat.

"What do you think?" Kiba asked, grinning. He shook his head, and the water from his head splashed everywhere.

"Stop! You're getting me wet! Not to mention all the electronic things in here!" Kairi yelled, shielding herself.

"That's the point!" Kiba said, doing it faster, as he moved his body along with it.

As Kairi screamed for Kiba to stop, they were interrupted by a sound. They immediately stopped what they were doing as the electricity suddenly went out.

"…Now that wasn't the point…" Kiba said.

Kairi groaned, and started hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Neji and Hinata are going to kill me…" Kairi groaned once again, "Not to mention the others too…" Kairi said, trying to find her way up the stairs, with Kiba following close behind her.

"Hey," she said, turning around to glare at Kiba.

"If these things are broken because of your stupidity, then _you _pay them."

* * *

"What was that?" Ino yelled, flinging her arms all over the place as she tried to feel for something familiar in the dark.

Shikamaru sighed as he held onto them before they could go back up again. Ino didn't protest, but Shikamaru could feel her trembling under his touch.

"T-The lights probably went out because of the storm… I'll go c-check it out." Hinata said, as she started to get up.

"No. I'll go." Neji said, standing up and going towards the doorway.

'_Boy… Even in the dark he seems to know his way around.'_ Tenten thought silently. She looked around the place, but only saw darkness. "Hold up Neji! I'll go with you!" Tenten shouted. No way in hell was she being left alone with a hysterical girl in the dark, even if there were other people around.

'_I hope you get this right Kairi-chan…'_ Hinata thought, looking after Tenten and Neji disappeared in the hallway. _'And I hope I didn't scare Tenten too much… She did say she hates ghost stories…' _Hinata thought, feeling a bit of regret.

* * *

Tenten shivered as she and Neji walked through the eerie halls of the Hyuuga Manor. It was creepier in the dark than in the morning, she observed. Not that it made it any better, though. She had no idea where the rest of the Hyuugas were. Sleeping? She shook her head. How could anyone sleep with the racket that they caused while watching the horror movie?

Tenten hugged herself as they walked through the never-ending hallways. As she thought about the eeriness of the whole situation, she didn't notice that Neji stopped walking, which resulted in her crashing into his back. "Why'd you stop?" Tenten said, glaring at him as she rubbed her sore forehead.

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you talking—"

Tenten stopped in midsentence as she realized that he wasn't talking to her. She glanced at the two people in front of her curiously, before realizing that it was Kairi and Kiba. "Weren't you in the bathroom...?" Tenten asked, raising a brow. "Unless..."

"No!" Kairi shouted, not wanting Tenten to get any ideas that could be used as blackmail later on.

"I... Well..." Kiba struggled to get the right words out of his mouth. "They ended my shift early. Yeah! They ended it early. Shino said he'll take my shift..." Kiba trailed off.

"And!" Kairi jumped in, continuing Kiba's miraculous lie, "I was on my way back when I heard a knock on the door, so I opened it for him!"

"That doesn't explain why you're coming from the basement," Neji stated, crossing his arms.

"We saw the flickering lights," Kairi said slowly, stalling for time as she tried to think of another brilliant (in her defense, these were as good as she could make them) lie. "So we decided to check up on the electricity in the basement... I swear I didn't do anything to the lights!" She shouted, waving her arms in front of her.

Which only added to the suspicion, of course.

"I won't ask how you two know the way to the basement. The maids would never tell someone of your kind," Kairi felt the urge to gauge Neji's eyes out at that moment, "the direction around here," came Neji's icy tone. He walked past them, letting them go for their ridiculous lie. "And Inuzuka. Take off that raincoat. You're wetting the hallway."

He nodded quickly, not wanting Neji to come back and kill him for their obvious lie. Tenten looked at the two warily before following Neji down to the basement. "They're lying, aren't they?" Tenten asked as she quickly caught up with him.

"Of course," Neji stated. "They're obviously hiding something. And knowing them, it's stupid," he replied, walking down the dark stairs that led to the basement.

Tenten followed him quietly as she held onto the banister tightly. She never liked dark places, although she liked the night. It was a weird contradiction on her part, but she didn't care. At this moment, the dark basement was getting on her nerves. "Got it?" Tenten asked as she heard Neji pull on something.

Neji grunted, and Tenten took that as a yes. Through the few weeks she's been here, she managed to decode the difficult Hyuuga Neji grunts and expressions. Tenten took hold of the candles and flashlights that were passed to her in the dark. As she tried to balance the many items in her hands, she nearly fell as she stepped on a candle that she dropped.

She managed to catch herself though. She straightened up as if nothing had happened. "What was that?" She asked nervously as she heard a door slam.

"The door closed," Neji replied as he stared at the locked door. He walked calmly over it, and pulled. It was no use—no matter how hard or how many times he pulled it. It remained shut.

Tenten took a deep breath as she banged on the door, hoping that someone would hear them. "How are we going to live?"

"Tenten, you're getting hysterical. Calm down," Neji said, as he continued to watch her bang on the door.

He was getting a huge migraine.

* * *

Kairi snickered as she heard Tenten's screams of, "we're trapped!" and "now I'll never pass that math test!" She felt a tad guilty for locking Neji up there as well. He must have been getting a huge headache with Tenten's screams.

"Are you sure Tenten won't... you know..." Kiba shifted his eyes as he whispered, "die of craziness in there?" His eyes were glued to the door, "It sounds pretty bad in there..."

Kiba suddenly groaned to himself. "Hyuuga's going to kill us when he gets out..."

"Don't worry!" Kairi said, waving the matter off. "It'll be fine. It's not like the door is really stuck. I'll just let them out after a couple of—"

What interrupted her was the sound of a wood breaking. It was a piece of wood that was keeping the door stuck; it snapped off. What remained was a small piece that was stuck inside of the door. Kairi's foolproof plan of taking the wood out after playing around with Neji and Tenten completely fell apart after that wood snapped.

"Okay, so now it's stuck."

"They are going to kill us when they get out," Kiba said, throwing his arms up in the air, along with getting a bit of water everywhere. His raincoat was still on, despite what Neji ordered him to do.

"..._if _they get out..."

Kiba stared at Kairi as if she grew ten heads. "What do you mean, _if? _Are you crazy? They _are _going to get out one way or another! _Neji's in there! _When they catch us, we'll be dead meat I like my meat alive!" Kiba shrieked.

"..._if _they catch us..."

"What are you saying? They _will _catch us and we _will _be dead!" He glared at Kairi when she opened her mouth. "And dont' say another if."

"Did the rainwater get into your head or something?" Kairi rolled her eyes. "Your shrieking will give us away. And calm down! They won't catch us!" She said nonchalantly as she semi-skipped down the hallway. "Let's put the rest of my plan into action!"

"What plan? It stinks!" Kiba complained.

"Just like you," came Kairi's voice further down the hallway. "Are you coming or what?"

"It's enver going to work!" Kiba complained, as if Kairi hadn't said anything at all. "They'll never fall for it! I mean, what kind of retards would be stupid enough to believe a ghost story?"

* * *

The basement was soundproof.

So, obviously, Tenten had no idea what was going on outside of the basement, on the other side of the door. Tenten eventually gave up on her hysteric cries and banging. Her energy was drained—she felt like taking a short nap. "What are we going to do now?"

"Now that you've stopped _screaming_…" Neji said, sighing as he rubbed his temples. "We have to find a way out."

Tenten resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "No shit, Sherlock. What do you think I've been doing for the past hour?"

"Oh, I don't know. Screaming that 'you're going to die and never pass math'?" Neji said, glaring at Tenten.

So he still had a grudge about her screams that gave him a headache.

"Haha. Very funny," Tenten said, glaring at him. "And how do you suppose we get out of here? Don't you have a cell phone? Just call someone," Tenten complained as she plopped down to the floor. Her stomach grumbled, and Tenten refrained herself from complaining.

"The whole phone line's wiped out. It'll probably be morning by the time the storm is over."

"So what now? Are we going to break the door or something?"

"Not possible. The door is made out of metal, so it's impossible to break down this door."

"I was joking," Tenten said in annoyance.

Neji ignored her joke, and continued to examine the basement. He shone the light at the ceiling, where there were pipes of all sorts. He looked for a vent that they could crawl through—there was none. He gritted his teeth in annoyance as he flicked the flashlight off.

"So... we just wait here until help comes?"

"They are not that stupid to not realize we are missing," Neji said.

"Neji," Tenten said, in all seriousness.

"I need the bathroom."

* * *

"It's been over an hour... just what in the world are those two doing?" Ino asked irritably, looking around the dark. "They better not run off and have fun by themselves..."

"I don't think N-Neji-niisan would do that," Hinata said, a slight blush grew on her face when she realized what Ino meant. "T-They're probably still down in the basement. I-It's quite difficult to get through, especially since it's also dark..."

"...Basement?" Ino asked in a small voice.

Hinata nodded, even though she knew that Ino couldn't see her. Naruto looked around nervously as he scooted closer to Hinata, who turned a bit redder at the sudden physical contact with him. "...Isn't that where the ghost is...?" Naruto asked nervously.

"Sounds like the whole thing's made up," Shikamaru commented.

Hinata suddenly froze. _'I haven't even thought about what's going to happen if I get caught...' _Hinata bit her lip nervously, wondering how she could cover it up. _'Kairi-chan...' _Hinata pleaded in her brain, staring at the silhouette of the door.

"Why do you think that?" Ino asked curiously.

"A woman who lost her husband to her maid, and then she killed the maid as well as killing her husband. Sounds like some kind of ghost story to tell younger kids," Shikamaru said tiredly. The darkness of the room was coaxing him to fall asleep.

Sasuke only grunted, annoyed at the fact that no one listened to him when he said it wasn't true. _'So now they doubt it,' _he scoffed in annoyance as he turned his head.

"So it's _not _true?" Naruto asked curiously. He was confused—did Hinata tell them a lie?

Hinata panicked. They were starting to doubt it. Well, truthfully, she knew that they were wary of it from the beginning—oh, why did she have to follow with Kairi's absurd plans? Now, Naruto would probably see her differently than he did before... He'll see her as a liar, or something along the lines of that...

Hinata shook her head. She promised Kairi that she'll follow through with the plan. "W-Well..." She mumbled, playing with the hem of her shirt. "I heard it from Hanabi-chan... So I don't know if it's true or not..." That's right. If she denied it, maybe they wouldn't blame her for everything.

Ino sighed a breath of relief. "You should've told us earlier!"

"She did say it," Shikamaru said tiredly. Ino's voice was keeping him awake.

Hinata smiled, although no one saw it.

_'Kairi, please hurry. I don't think I can keep this up much longer...'_

* * *

"How long has it been since we've been down here?" Tenten asked, glancing at Neji (or at least she thought it was Neji. It was kind of hard to tell, since it was dark).

Her guess was correct; it was Neji. He finally got tired of standing (at least that was what she thought) and sat down next to her. It was at least two hours since they were down there, but to Tenten, it seemed like they were down there for hours.

"About two hours," he answered, not even bothering to look at his phone.

"Why didn't they notice that we were gone yet..." Tenten said sullenly. She wrapped her arms around her legs and put her chin on her knees. "Was this their plan? To send us down here as a way to get rid of us? Why _us _then? The least they could've done was send Ino and Naruto down here or something..." Tenten muttered to herself.

Neji sighed as he restrained from doing something he might regret in the future. Her incredulous deductions of why they were down here in the first place was giving him a bigger migraine than before—he needed some pills. Why hadn't anyone come down to get them out already? Did they really want him to die in this miserable way, from Tenten's rants? He rubbed his temples as he swore to himself that he would kill them all when they got out.

Tenten took a glance at Neji. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I should probably stop talking," she mumbled to herself.

"About time you realized it..." Neji said quietly, breathing in and out.

Tenten made a face at him, but didn't say anything else.

There was suddenly a strike of lightning that illuminated everything, followed by a clap of thunder. It was then that Tenten realized how close they were. She immediately turned away when the flash of lightning disappeared. Her face was hot—was she blushing? She shook her head violently as she tried to shake the thought out of her mind. If she _was _blushing, that would mean that she was blushing because of Neji.

And why would she be doing that?

She mentally scoffed at herself for the ridiculous thought. That couldn't be it. Her, Tenten, blushing because of Neji? The world's come to an end. Hell froze over. The sky fell.

Tenten brought her hands up to her face and tried to cool it down. She flinched as she felt her icy cold hands on her cheeks; it was only then that she noticed that her hands were incapable of feeling anything. Was it that cold in the basement to make her freeze this much? Even with thin pajamas, Tenten didn't feel sort of iciness when she first stepped into the basement.

It was better not to question, anyways. Her hands helped in cooling her red hot face down. As soon as she brought her hands back down, she felt an odd shudder.

What was that?

"Did you feel a breeze?" Tenten's voice cracked as she asked him that question. She blushed once again, and she didn't know why. It wasn't like her to get embarrassed over something like that. What made it different this time?

"No," Neji replied. He looked to the side, where the window was located. "The window is not opened."

"Oh," Tenten said, resting her chin on her knees again. "Maybe it was just my—"

"Who's this?" A voice sneered.

It was a loud, clear voice, and yet it seemed so far away. Tenten looked up in alarm—where did it come from? She was sure that there was no one else in the basement besides them. She turned towards Neji, and he seemed to have some sort of shock etched on his face. The voice was of a woman's, and it boomed from every corner of the basement.

"...Did you hear that?" Tenten asked in a small voice. Was it the ghost?

"Hn," Neji narrowed his eyes trying to grasp the fist of the situation. There was no one in the basement—he made sure of it.

"How dare you not answer me!" The voice bellowed, as a large sound was heard.

Tenten covered her ears at the screeching sound. "What is this?" She screamed at Neji.

"How would I know?"

"You live here don't you?"

"Does that mean that I should know?"

"Yes!"

"You don't dare to have a conversation during my punishment!" The same voice yelled.

"Now look what you did!" Tenten yelled.

* * *

"Uh… don't you think you're taking this a little _too_ far…?" Kiba asked warily, staring as Kairi slammed her free hand on an electronic keyboard. Her other hand was occupied with a microphone.

She only roller her eyes at him as a response. Lighting her hand from the keyboard, she covered the microphone as she responded to his 'silly' comment. "Oh please, this isn't anywhere _near _taking it far," she said.

"You are such a sadist…" Kiba said, sighing while running a hand through his dry hair. He finally found the bathroom the moment he ran after Kairi—and boy was he glad. He trashed his raincoat near the showers, hoping that the maids wouldn't find it. "At least try not to scare them too much. We wouldn't want them chasing after us, now do we?"

Kairi just smiled. "Let's just see where this takes us…"

"I don't think that your plan is going to work."

"Why would you think that?"

Kiba stared at Kairi, just to make sure that she wasn't kidding. "Are you serious? Can't you hear Tenten screaming like a lunatic in there? If I was Neji, I would've ditched her the moment I heard her scream."

"Well, since you aren't Neji, there might be a chance! And besides! Anyone would scream in a situation like that!" Kairi said.

"Whatever you say…" Kiba said, sighing once again.

'_Why did I agree to help her again?'_

* * *

"Hey…" Tenten spoke up after moments of silence. "It's quiet… maybe the old lady gave up!" Tenten said, with a bit of hope as she put her hands down from her ears.

"Who are you calling old?" The voice sneered.

Tenten groaned, and brought her hands back up to her ears. She spoke too soon. "Any way out of this situation?" She shouted over to Neji.

Neji didn't reply, but his attention was focused on something else. He motioned for Tenten to come near him. "What?"

"See that?" Neji asked in a low voice.

He pointed to a black object with a flashlight. It seemed to look like a small speaker, made to be disguised so no one would find it. Tenten stared at it in confusion, and at him in confusion, too. And suddenly, as if a lightning just struck (again), she finally got it. _'It's making sense now…'_

'_Kairi… you are __**so**__ busted.'_

* * *

_Edit—Saturday, April 24, 2010_

I added in a small NejiTen moment for y'all who read this chapter before. And uh. Fixed things up? Skim over it, if you please (:

WhippedCoffee(:  
_review, please&thankyou! – so we don't stop, we can't stop, until we reach the top!_


	11. Dec 2 & 4, Sat & Mon

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Fourteen & Sixteen_

**Chapter 11**—Ruined

"It's been over 3 hours… could something have happened to Neji and Tenten?" Ino asked worriedly. It took her a while, but she definitely noticed an odd emptiness when she realized that Tenten was gone.

"M-Maybe I should go look for them." Hinata said, as she stood up.

"No need to," came Neji's voice.

"Found them!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the soaking wet Neji and Tenten.

Ino rolled her eyes at Naruto, who was grinning at that he supposedly 'found' them. Hinata ignored Ino's actions, and looked at Neji and Tenten's wet clothes. "N-Neji-niisan, Tenten, w-what happened to you?" Hinata asked, staring at them in shock.

They were both as wet as Kiba, and maybe even wetter. Only, they didn't have any raincoats, so that made was what made it worse for them. Their clothes seemed to be part of their body, with the way that it was sticking to them. Tenten suppressed a shiver as she took a step into the room. "What do you _think _happened to us?" She asked in a dangerous voice. Part of her wanted to make the others suffer for not coming to find them, but the other part of her blamed someone else.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and kill Kairi."

Hinata panicked as the Ino stared at Tenten's retreating back confusedly. Hinata bit her tongue as she tried to think up of a lie. This wasn't good… That meant that they figured everything out. Which meant... Hinata widened her eyes in horror.

"Kairi? Isn't she still in the bathroom or something? Ino (who was still cnofused) asked Tenten, who stopped in her tracks. "Come to think of it... why is she still in the bathroom. What in the world is she doing?" Ino made a face as she thought of the endless possibilities. "That is just disgusting!" She said, more so to herself than to anyone else.

"I'm going to kill her..." Tenten grumbled hotly as she resumed walking out the door.

"T-Tenten!" Hinata suddenly stepped in, stopping Tenten in her steps. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt. Now that she had stopped Tenten from possibly hurting Kairi badly (or at least that was what Hinata thought Tenten would do), she had no idea what to say. "I-I..." She stuttered nervously, her face getting hotter and hotter as all eyes set on her. "The ghost story..." She said quietly. "The ghost story is fake," she said in a slightly louder voice, although Tenten had to strain her ears to hear what Hinata was saying. "I-It... It was a part of Kairi-chan's plans to get Neji and Tenten together..." Hinata mumbled out.

Although Tenten was slightly peeved at what Kairi was planning to do, she couldn't help but blush at the fact. Why she was doing it, she had no idea. "What an idiot," Tenten said hotly. She turned towards Neji, waiting for him to comment on the stupidity of Kairi's actions. Unfortunately, he seemed to be ignoring everything around him.

Tenten suddenly felt awkward in the situation that she realized that she was in. After all, it _was _a plan to get her and Neji together – where in the world did they get the idea of getting them together in the first place? Unable to take anymore of the awkward silence, she proceeded to step out of the room, going back to her goal of killing Kairi.

"T-Tenten!" Hinata stopped her once again. Although she didn't agree withwhat Kairi did, seeing Tenten say that she was going to hurt Kairi made her fear what was going to happen. "M-Maybe... Maybe we can do it another way..." Hinata suggested, suddenly thinking of an idea.

Tenten raised a brow at her.

* * *

"Stop snoring."

Kiba nearly fell down as he heard a few words from Kairi. He rubbed his tired eyes as he propped himself back up against the wall. "What did you say...?" Kiba asked tiredly, yawning as he stretched his arms.

"Oh, nothing," Kairi said, dismissing the matter quickly. Truthfully, Kiba hadn't been snoring. The only reason as to why she had woken him was that she wasn't going to endure it along – she needed someone to suffer with her.

No, Kairi wasn't a sadist at all.

Kairi suddenly frowned as she adjusted her headphones.

Why couldn't she hear anythinhg?

She tried playing with the sound levels on the controller, but nothing came through. Kiba only stared at her with half lidded eyes that were threatening to close any second. Right when they were about to close, he felt a large impact on his face.

"What was that for!" Kiba asked irritably, rubbing his sore chin as he glared at the culprit.

"See if you can hear anything," she said quickly, not wanting to deal with another one of his arguments.

"You didn't have to throw it at me..." He mumbled to himself as he placed the headphones on his ears. "I don't hear anything," he said, throwing it back to Kairi the moment he heard silence.

"I hear something!"

"You're obviously imagining it."

"No, you're an idiot."

"You're imagining it just like how you imagined that I was snoring."

"So you _were_ awake!"

"Hm? What? Oh, I think I hear something too!"

"God Kiba, you just killed it. I don't hear anything anymore."

"...You didn't hear anything from the beginning, did you?"

"I think they might be making out."

"You're disgusting..."

"Says the freak who eats his dog."

"I WOULD NEVER EAT AKAMARU!"

"Well, it looked like you were eating him from the way I saw it."

"You're obviously blind."

"And you're obviously a retard. Now that we've got this cleared up—where are they!" Kairi whined in frustration. "Did I go a little too far with them?" She asked.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Of course not," he drawled on sarcastically. "Aside from a stupid ghost story that isn't even the least bit realistic, a fake woman's voice that sounds like a man, and that stupid piece of crap you call a piano—of course you didn't go too far."

Kairi ignored Kiba, not even bothering to try to retort to that.

"Maybe they escaped."

"How would they escape?" Kairi questioned, furrowing her brow.

"What are you talking about," Kiba asked, giving Kairi a strange look.

"Didn't you say, 'maybe they escaped'?" Kairi asked, reciprocating the strange look.

"No... didn't you say that? Besides, that voice was a girl's. Why would I sound like that," Kiba scoffed as he crossed his arms.

"Who knows," Kairi said in a dry voice. "We all know that you haven't hit puberty yet."

"Hey, girls mature faster than boys, okay?" Kiba said in a defensive state. "It's not my fault," he grumbled to himself.

"You both are idiots."

"...Tell me that you said that, Kiba."

"Did I just _not _make myself clear? I don't sound like a fucking—"

A horrible screeching filled the air. Kairi hid behind Kiba, who continuously tried to hide behind her. "Be a man! What are you so afraid of?" Kairi shouted over the loud noise, trying to get behind Kiba.

"You're manlier than I am!" He cried, trying to hide behind her.

"Take that back!" Kairi screamed into his ear.

"Not until you take back what you said about me not hitting puberty!"

"You guys are impossible..."

Tenten stepped out into view, making Kiba and Kairi freeze at the sight. "Tenten?" She screamed (whether it was relief or anger, Tenten didn't know). "Oh thank god," she said, grabbing onto Tenten's arm. "I thought I was going to die!"

Tenten gave Kairi a strange look as she shrugged Kairi's iron grip off her arm. "You're an idiot for thinking something so stupid could work," Tenten said, giving Kairi a hard glare.

"I have no idea what you're talking about..." Kairi said nervously as she shifted her eyes back and forth. After a moment of silence, Kairi broke down. "Okay, fine! But it was all Kiba's idea!"

"Wha...?" Kiba's mouth flopped open like a fish.

"Why else would he come here!" Kairi said, nodding at her brilliant lie.

"I'm not an idiot," Tenten said flatly.

"Oh hey look, I got a text from Shino... They need me back at the cafe, I guess I'll see you guys in school!" Kiba said quickly, rushing towards a random direction.

"You - !" Kairi was about to chase after Kiba, but was stopped when Tenten placed a hand on her shoulder. "...oh, fine. Just not the face," Kairi whimpered as she covered her face.

"You both are huge idiots."

* * *

_Day Sixteen_

"I barely had any sleep the past two nights night," Ino complained as she stared at herself in her compact mirror, checking her eye bags. "Do you think it's noticeable?"

"It's the size of Mount Fuji," Kairi said with disinterest as she yawned. She brushed away the tears that formed in her eyes as a result. "Man, remind me to never have a sleepover with you guys again," she said in a tired voice.

"You're the one who came up with that ridiculous plan," Tenten said, glancing at Kairi sideways.

"And well, it would've been perfect if Neji's stupid brain hadn't got involved with it," Kairi muttered to herself.

"It's not the size of Mount Fuji, is it Hinata?"

"A-Ano..."

"You can barely see it, Ino."

"I beg to differ. I think it's quite large."

"Shut up Kairi, if you keep saying that, then Ino will—"

"Hinata, it's not that big, right?"?

"W-Well..."

"You're stuttering! That means it's huge!"

"W-Wha—"

"Oh, there's the bell!" Tenten cut in, picking up her bag from the ground. "I'll see you guys later," she said, giving them a wave as she rushed into the crowd of students.

"Oh my goodness, is that a pimple?"

* * *

"I would like to introduce a new student to you. Please come in!" Asuma said.

As usual, the chatter of the students stopped as soon as the door opened. Some of the girls looked expectantly at the door, as if they already knew that it'll be a hot guy. They were on the tip of their seats (Tenten swore she saw a girl falling from her seat) as they anticipated what was going to happen next. Unfortunately, the next sight made them scoff and turn back to their gossip.

'_Ouch,' _Tenten thought, amused. The new student had a dark hoodie over his blazer (wasn't that against the school code?), and the one thing that probably turned off the girls in the room was the make-up on his face. It was bizarre, really. Who ever heard of purple make-up on a _guy's _face?

"Let's welcome Kankuro-san. Why don't you introduce yourself?" Asuma asked, following the old tradition of introducing yourself to a class. He ignored the fact that the majority of the class was basically ignoring the new kid. He would have to remember to assign them more homework at the end of class.

The new student nodded to him. He turned to face the class. It got some what quieter, and to this, he smirked. "My name is Kankuro. I used to go to this school, but later I was transferred to another school. I came here for personal reasons, with my brother and sister."

"Take a seat and we'll get started," Asuma said, walking towards the chalkboard.

"Kankuro's back...?" Tenten heard Kairi mutter to herself.

"You know him?" Tenten asked curiously. Well, he did say that he used to go to the school.

"Ino will have a ball," Kairi muttered to herself as she let out a short laugh.

"Is something funny, Akita-san?" Asuma's voice held a dangerous tone at the student who decided to interrupt his lesson with an unnecessary laugh.

"Not at all, Asuma-sensei!"

* * *

Lunch happened to come by faster than Tenten thought. After her attempt to try to find out what Kairi was muttering to herself about (Asuma hadn't taken the laughter quite happily. Apparently he was a bit more peeved today than any other day – he had assigned thrice as much homework as he usually did), she tried to find out what happened by asking Sasuke. But of course, the stoic Uchiha only ignored her after her question, not even showing the slightest amount of interest in her question.

"So, what happened?" Tenten asked Kairi as soon as she arrived at their table.

Kairi looked around every other second, ignoring Tenten. She finally gave up looking for someone through the tall figures of the students. She stood up, looking past Tenten as she looked. "Who are you looking for?"

"I'll tell you later once I—Shikamaru!" Kairi shouted, waving her hand to him, beckoning him to walk faster towards them. He only walked slower (if that was possible, at the pace that he was going), which made Kairi narrow her eyes in annoyance. "Walk faster!" She hissed.

"What?" He asked in a bored voice three minutes later as he sat down at the table. Kairi glared at his passiveness. "Haven't you heard?"

"What are you talking about?

"Kankuro's back! You don't know?"

"He's back?" Shikamaru echoed. He widened his used-to-be lazy eyes. "You mean he came with—"

Kairi nodded her head.

"What are you guys talking about," Tenten said in an exasperated voice. One of the things she hated about being a new kid: she had no idea what happened before she came to the school, thus making her feel left out. But she couldn't see why they couldn't spare some time to explain to her what was happening.

By that time, Ino came towards the, noticing that Kairi and Shikamaru were having a heated conversation. Which was a surprise for Ino, since she never saw Shikamaru talking that animatedly to someone before. "What's with them?" She threw then a strange look as she asked Tenten.

"I have no idea," Tenten grumbled as she started poking at her school lunch.

"Ino, I have bad news." Kairi said, finally breaking out of the conversation with Shikamaru.

Ino sipped her juice calmly as she raised her brow at Kairi. "What?"

"Kankuro's back."

"So?" Ino gave Kairi another strange look. "Who's Kankuro?" Right after she said that, her face paled.

One after another, the others arrived at the table. Tenten glared at her lunch in annoyance as she still had yet to know what was happening. All she figured out was that Kankuro was a disliked person.

"And things were finally looking up for us," Ino grumbled.

"What are you talking about?" Tenten asked. If there were more people, that meant that her question had to get answered by someone.

And she was right.

Hinata pulled Tenten away from the table, seeing as though they were already in a predicament. "K-Kankuro-san's sister, T-Temari-san... was uh," Tenten could barely hear Hinata's soft voice in the large cafeteria. "She was Shikamaru's ex-girlfriend. T-They were together for about t-two years, until Temari-san had to move to another p-place. They were b-both hoping for a long-distance r-relationship, but then S-Shikamaru stopped calling, e-mailing, and lost a-all connection with Temari-san. Ino-chan had had a crush on Shikamaru ever since he s-started dating Temari-san, but she n-never did anything about it, until when T-Temari-san moved," Tenten could already guessed what Ino did, "Ino-chan took it as a chance to get Shikamaru and she did… but now since s-she came back…" Hinata trailed off as she shifted her eyes from left to right.

"They don't act like a couple at all," Tenten stated as she stared at the distance between Shikamaru and Ino.

"I don't know about that," Hinata said softly.

"Didn't Shikamaru break up with Temari?"

"I don't think he did..." Hinata said. "Or he never had the chance to."

"How stupid," Tenten said, frowning. "He should've broken up with Temari-san the moment he got together with Ino!"

"M-Maybe he was looking for the right time to tell her..."

"Which would've been never..." Tenten grumbled as the two walked back to the table.

Even at this point, the two weren't showing any displays of affection. They only stared at each other, without exchanging any words. It was as if they had telepathy—though Tenten knew that that wasn't true. She stared at Ino and Shikamaru, suddenly feeling something in her heart. She ignored it—now wasn't the time to think about herself.

Ino slowly turned her head to the side, breaking off eye contact with Shikamaru.

"So, you dumped me for her, huh?

* * *

_Edit—Saturday, May 1, 2010_

I took out some parts... ah, this chapter became shorter instead of longer (: Oh well.

WhippedCoffee(:  
_i'm lovin' it~_:


	12. Dec 4, Mon Part II

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Sixteen_

**Chapter 12**—All Gone Wrong

"_So, you dumped me for her, huh?" _

_All the heads turned towards the sound of that voice. It was the same girl that Tenten saw in hallways when she was going to English class. With sandy blonde hair tied in four ponytails, Temari had the look of a tough girl._

"_Temari… you didn't say anything about coming…" Shikamaru said._

"_Why would I do that after you never replied to any of my phone calls? E-mails? What __**would**__ you do if I told you that I was coming? Break up with Yamanaka over there and say that there was a misunderstanding and that you forgot to return my calls?" Temari asked harshly. Her eyes gave off the feeling that she wasn't going to be strung along any further._

"_Look, Temari, can we just talk this over calmly?" Shikamaru asked._

"_Why should we? Don't I deserve to let out my anger in this? What if I started to date another guy without breaking up with you first? What if I just suddenly got bored of my long distant boyfriend, and just went out and dated guys just like that?" Temari was fuming angry, and although her voice got louder with each sentence, she was never on the verge of screaming._

"_It wasn't like that! I didn't get bored, okay?" Shikamaru said, his voice getting louder as well._

"_Well, then what was it like? How could you just go behind my back and date other girls?" Temari said, resisting the urge to cry (and punch Shikamaru)._

_"Let's talk later," Shikamaru said calmly._

_"Fine," Temari capitulated, although she was still angry. She gave him as well as Ino a hard glare as she turned away._

* * *

Tenten sighed as she thought about what happened. It was really confusing, digesting the information all at once. Oh, why couldn't she have gotten kicked out of her foster family earlier so that she could've been here to know what happened... Tenten sighed once again as she glanced over at Ino.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Ino sniffled and nodded. She looked horrible – her mascara was all over her face as a result of her tears, and her eyes were blotchy red from crying. "I think I'm going to break up with Shikamaru."

"Why?" Tenten asked. Of course she knew why.

"I mean, it'll be better for the both of us if he got back together with Temari, right? After all, I did interfere with their relationship..."

"Well, if he really did like her, then he would've stayed with her," Tenten said boldly, patting Ino on the back. "Don't throw him away just because his old girlfriend came back. Just keep fighting and maybe things will blow over soon."

"You say it like it's so easy," Ino mumbled as she tried wiping off the mascara off her face. "It was partly my fault that Shikamaru dumped Temari. I took advantage of him when he was in his weak state..." She admitted, letting her hands fall on her lap.

"...What did you do to him?" Tenten asked, raising a brow.

"Well, Shikamaru really liked Temari," Ino said with an ambiguous tone. "He was really sad when she moved, but he never showed it. Of course I knew," Tenten couldn't help but smile a little at her almost gloating tone, "since we were friends from when we were younger. I don't even know what I did," Ino said as tears started to form in her eyes again. "I went to his house with cookies to cheer him up... His mother told me to go to his room, and then I just..." Ino rubbed her irritating eyes. "He was on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He told me to go away, and come back when he was feeling more like himself again, and... I just don't know what happened. I... Never in my life did I see him like that..." Ino sniffled as she blinked away the tears that formed again. "It was stupid. I don't even know why I started crying when I saw him like that. I bet he pitied me," Ino gave Tenten a sad smile as she said that. "He didn't say anything when I was crying. He just let me stay there until I stopped. And then..." This time, her tears flowed out.

"I don't know, Tenten! I just don't know... everything happened so fast, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know what happened, but when I woke up, I was in his bed... and we were… we were… Shikamaru didn't have his shirt on, and I didn't have my shirt on either... I couldn't really remember what happened, but it was obvious from the way we..." Ino rubbed her eyes again, smudging what was left of her mascara.

Tenten looked at her with sadness in her eyes. "Shikamaru must've been angry..." She said in a soft voice.

"I didn't mean to sleep with him. I don't know what happened," Ino kept repeating the line as if she was a broken disk. "I don't know what happened... I swear I didn't plan it out Tenten," Ino said with teary eyes. "Shikamaru shouted things at me when he realized what was happening... They weren't very nice words," Ino said, attempting to give Tenten a smile. However, it came out a bit strange looking. "I didn't even know he knew those words... he said that I ruined every possible chance that he had with Temari... I felt like... I felt like such a slut," Ino said, lowering her head. "Who sleeps with another girl's boyfriend when they're gone? Who in their right mind would do that?" Ino rubbed her eyes again.

"He wouldn't talk to me after that. For days, weeks, months... he ignored me most of the time. The only time where he would talk to me is when we were doing a project together. And even then he only said that he would do everything... "

"How did you get him to talk to you again?"

"I don't even know," Ino said, as she smiled at the memory. "I guess..." She shook her head. "I don't even know what happened. One day he just started to talk to me," she smiled as she thought about it."

"Sounds like a fairytale," Tenten said shortly afterwards. She sighed with content. "I wish my life was as good as yours..."

"Fairytale?" Ino rolled her eyes. Her tears were gone—instead, a clear, happy emotion seemed to take over. "Those days without him talking to me was horrible," she said.

"But you guys got together in the end anyways," Tenten pointed out.

"Yeah well, maybe we aren't going to last," Ino mumbled. Her happiness was already diminishing.

"No—well—" Tenten sighed. She wasn't really good at comforting people. "Well... you aren't going to last because you think that you won't last..." Tenten said slowly, winging it. "So if you believe that you're going to last, you guys will last... right?" Tenten said in an unsure tone. She had no idea what she was saying, but it sounded like it made sense.

Ino frowned as she thought about what Tenten said. "I... guess..." She ruffled her hair as she groaned in frustration. "I'm going to get bigger bags at this rate!" She cried, fishing through her bag for a mirror. "I think they just doubled in size, Tenten." Ino frowned as she stared at her eye bags in the small mirror. "Oh, what am I going to do...?" She murmured softly to herself as she looked through her bag for any cover up.

"You look fine, Ino..." Tenten said in an exasperated tone.

"Nothing fairytale-like about this at all," Ino said as she gave up looking for any make up. It wasn't like she could find anything in there, since her books took up more than half the space in there. "If you ask me, you're living more of the fairytale life than I am."

"What are you talking about?" Tenten asked, giving Ino a strange look. She was glad that Ino stopped sulking, although she wished that Ino hadn't gone back to her delusions of 'eye bags the size of Mount Fuji'.

"Well, not that I know that much about your past or anything—" Tenten smiled sullenly at this, "but we all know that you weren't from the best family," Ino stated as a matter of fact. "And look where you ended up. Smack dab in the Hyuuga Manor." Ino narrowed her eyes at Tenten. "It really is a fairytale life..." She sighed as she continued to look in the mirror.

Tenten gave her a small smile. She never really did tell the others of her past – ah well, it would come up again some other time. She didn't want pity or anything of that sort from her own friends. "Not so much of a fairytale if you ask me..." She muttered to herself as she stared at her fingers.

"And then Neji is your very own prince charming," Ino said as the corner of her lips curved up to form a smile. "He comes and saves you in your time of need, and you both live happily ever after."

"What a great story," Tenten applauded sarcastically. "Neji as Prince Charming? Hell will freeze over before that happens," Tenten said, narrowing her eyes at Ino.

"Well, it is nearing winter," Ino commented as she wiped off the mascara that was all over her face.

Tenten was silent for a moment. "He still likes Sakura, remember?"

Ino paused in the midst of cleaning up her face. She frowned as soon as she heard Sakura's name. "She's long gone. He probably forgot about her. We haven't heard from her in like, years," Ino said with an edge in her tone.

In reality though, it was only a few months. Tenten could sense the small grudge (no matter how childish Tenten thought it was) that Ino still had towards Sakura.

"Well he still has that picture of her on his dresser..."

"That doesn't mean he still likes her."

"Yeah, because we all put pictures of the opposite sex that you were once in a relationship with in a picture frame on top of a dresser right?"

"Hey, people do it all the time," Ino said, defending her idea righteously.

Tenten smiled at Ino, appreciating the effort. "It's not like I like him, so why does it matter?" She asked.

"If you didn't like him, why would you want to know what happened between them?" Ino asked curiously. "If you didn't like him, why bother talking to Neji? If you didn't like him, why are we even having this talk right now? If you didn't like him—"

"Okay, okay, you can stop now..." Tenten said with a sigh. "Is curiosity a sin?" She mumbled.

"In your case, yes Tenten, yes it is," Ino stated as she went back to her mirror. "It's okay to be in denial. As long as you come out of it."

"Right," Tenten said, completely giving up trying to change Ino's views. Sometimes, she can be as stubborn as a horse. "Even if I do like him, it's not like he's going to like me back," she added.

"You think so lowly of yourself."

"But it's true."

"No, it's not."

"Neji has a greater chance of being gay than liking me."

Ino stared at Tenten, and then slowly returned to fixing her makeup. She coughed a little as she thought of a reply. "And even though that is true, you are the only girl that he interacts with."

"You're not a girl? Kairi's not a girl? Hinata's not a girl?" Tenten retorted, playing with a random piece of paper she pulled out from her bag.

"Well he talks to you the most!"

Tenten made a noise of frustration, which signaled the end of the conversation. She knew for sure that she couldn't change Ino's opinion about the matter anymore. Even though Tenten knew that leaving the subject alone would cause more problems in the future (she wasn't stupid; she knew that they would have plans for her and Neji), muck like the one at the sleepover.

Oh yes.

Tenten was still a bit bitter at what happened.

"Miracles happen right?" Ino asked in a faraway voice as she continued to stare blankly at the mirror. It didn't seem like she was concerned about how she looked as of now—it was more like she was staring at something she couldn't see, staring at something she couldn't reach.

"If you believe in them," Tenten replied after a pause.

She didn't know it herself. Did miracles happen? Her sudden rescue from the Hyuuga Hiashi from the streets, would that count as a miracle?

But deep inside, she knew it wasn't a miracle. It was just plain luck—she lucked out again, and again, and again. Every time she was kicked out of her foster family, she would always be lucky to be adopted into another one.

"How are you this lucky, Tenten?"

Those were the words that Maki said every time she stood in his office to wait for the new family to pick her up. She had no reply to that except for a smile and a shrug. She wished that she knew the answer to that question—how was she this lucky? It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was a 'bad' kid, since everything she had done was stated in the papers. Why did these families continue to adopt her then? Was it some kind of human instinct to help a lost child walking down the wrong path walk the right path? Did they think, with the slightest hope, that they could change the way she was?

Tenten refrained herself from letting out a laugh. That was ridiculous. Everything was a misunderstanding: the fights, the broken bones, the crazy hospital bills—they were all misunderstandings. She was always provoked.

"I wish I was as lucky as you, Tenten."

Maki had said that out of the blue one day, in a nostalgic tone. Tenten didn't know much about him, but one thing she did know was that he was once an orphan. The rest of the details, she either forgot them or he never told her. She could only guess what happened in his past when he said those words to her. Was he left alone? Did he get kicked out of his foster family? Did he live on the streets?

Tenten knew nothing, but what she did know, was that there were no such things as miracles. If there were, there wouldn't be poverty. If there were, there would be peace. If there were, Maki wouldn't have suffered.

If there were, she'd have a family.

"I think... there are no such things as miracles," Ino finally said. She glanced up slowly from her mirror, locking eyes with Tenten. Her eyes reverted back to its cloudy self, hazed with a raw emotion. "Miracles don't happen," she continued. "You have to make them happen."

Her lips curved upwards a little, and the haze in her eyes seem to disappear.

"Right, Tenten?"

* * *

_Miracles don't happen. You have to make them happen._

The words that Ino spoke echoed in Tenten's head as she stood outside the school, waiting for Ino. Maybe that was why nothing spectacular ever happened to her—she never did anything to make it happen. All she did—well, she really didn't do anything.

When she was younger, she was never the type to speak up for or against people. She sat in silence while others made friends, and she only smiled at them when they tried to talk to her. It was odd, and all the other kids were aware of that. After that, they left her alone. Tenten would used to sit in the corner, and wait for someone nice to come and talk to her. It was always in the same spot, since everyone else occupied the rest of the room.

That was in kindergarten.

Now, she came out of her shell. She realized her wrongs, and she set them right. Would that be considered as a miracle? No, it wouldn't. It was only called a change in personality. She only became less of an introvert. Nothing changed, except for the fact that she gained a few friends. It was nothing wondrous.

Tenten sighed as she tapped her foot on the ground. Ino was late.

"Sorry Tenten!" Ino shouted, running down the stairs of the front entrance. "I had to pick up something from Kurenai-sensei. There were too many other people there, so she got to me late," Ino explained.

"It's fine," Tenten said as they began walking to the direction of the Yamanaka flower shop. "Although I am going to be late for my study session with Hinata..."

Ino only smiled as she swung her bag back and forth optimistically. It had been a rather quick change from her depressed mood, but Tenten guessed that nothing could ever land Ino in the emo state.

"Yamanaka. Come here."

Even before Tenten turned around, she could already guess who it was by the tone of the girl's voice. Ino only froze at the voice, turning around slowly after moments of silence.

"Wait here," Ino said as she saw Temari. "It shouldn't take a long time."

"Are you sure?" Tenten asked. She didn't trust Temari—especially with that 'I'll kill you' aura that was surrounding her. "She seems kind of dangerous," she muttered to Ino.

"I'll be fine," Ino said, taking a step towards Temari. She gave Tenten a grin, as if to assure her that nothing would go wrong. "Tell Hinata I'm sorry for ruining your little study date."

Tenten cracked a smile as she watched Ino walk off with Temari.

They walked in silence, with the occasion crunch of a leaf and a twig. It was only after they were out of earshot that Temari turned around to glare at Ino. Ino flinched from the coldness of her glare—it wasn't that long ago that they were on somewhat good terms.

"Bitch."

Ino couldn't say that she didn't see that coming. "I'm sorry." That was the only thing she could say.

"Your apologies are empty," Temari accused. "You're not sorry at all. If you were really sorry, you wouldn't be with Nara right now. You're not sorry, so don't fucking say that to my face."

"I am sorry," Ino insisted, as she let her bag drop to the ground. "I'm not sorry that Shikamaru's my boyfriend, and that I caused you two to break up. I'm sorry that he couldn't have broken up with you before you found out about this."

"Shikamaru never liked you!" Temari screamed. "If you weren't such a slut and kept your hands to yourself, we would've still been together. If you hadn't pounced on him the moment I left—"

"You're wrong," Ino whispered.

"What? I'm wrong? So you _didn't _sleep with him after I left?"

"You two wouldn't have been together."

"I can't believe you have the nerve to even say that," Temari hissed as she took a step closer to Ino. Instinctively, Ino took a step backwards. "You're not a fucking psychic. We would've still been together."

Ino shook her head. "No, you wouldn't have."

"What do you know," Temari said as she glared at her. "All you know is how to sleep with other people's boyfriends after their girlfriends leave." She shoved Ino, causing her to go off balance and fall on the ground.

Ino made no effort to get back up. She knew that if she did, Temari would only push her back down. She remembered all of this—it happened too many times in the past.

"Remember Ino?" Temari said, switching from 'Yamanaka'. "Remember the game we used to play?"

Ino stared at the ground numbly, suddenly losing the feeling in her leg as Temari stepped on it.

"You always lost," Temari continued, kicking aside Ino's other leg that was sprawled on the ground. "You keep losing. So, why do you think that you're going to win now? Do you think you've won, now that you have Shikamaru? Do you think the game's over?" She stopped her kicking, and instead waited for an answer from Ino.

When she received none, Temari kicked Ino in the gut, sending her a few feet away. "No, the game's not over. Our game will always continue. So don't think you've won yet."

Ino stared numbly at Temari as old memories flowed into her head. Temari wasn't like this before, She had been a happy girl, a normal girl, an average girl once upon a time. But she turned into a monster—a kind of monster that only hurt the people around her.

"It's not Shikamaru is it?" Ino said as she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach. "It's Kobaji..." The moment she said it, Temari gave Ino another sharp kick in the stomach.

"This has nothing to do with Kobaji," she said in a low voice as she stopped kicking Ino. She watched as Ino's face twist in pain, with a hand over her stomach and a low groan from her mouth. "Don't you remember, Ino? You should blame this on yourself."

"After all, you're the one who came up with this stupid game."

* * *

"_Shikamaru… This… This is Tenten…"_

"Yeah Tenten? Why are you talking so slow?"

"_Shikamaru… This is the worst! It's horrible! I-Ino's…"_

"..."

"_Ino… Ino's… in the hospital…"_

* * *

_Edit—Saturday, May 08, 2010_

Wow, okay, you should all just skin through the chapter. I changed around the conversations. Man, I should just delete the whole thing and do a repost...

Oh well.

WhippedCoffee(:  
_i'm kinda thirsty._


	13. Dec 4, Mon Part III

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Sixteen_

**Chapter 13**—Awakened

"_Ino… Ino's… in the hospital…"_

The line went dead. Tenten had hung up, since she didn't want to hear Shikamaru's barrel of questions (if there were any, since she really couldn't tell from his silence). She touched her dry eyes as she breathed deeply. She didn't want to answer Shikamaru about what happened, since she herself didn't even know what happened.

'_Why didn't I cry? Ino could be on the verge of dying… and yet… I'm not even crying…' _She blinked, and tried to make tears come out. But as always, there was nothing. She smiled bitterly as though she knew the reason for the lack of tears.

"It's going to be alright…" She murmured to herself.

She repeated the same words to herself over and over again. It was all her fault—she should've gone with Ino in the first place. Why didn't she follow Ino? Had she been that stupid to underestimate Temari? Tenten gritted her teeth as she took a deep breath, ignoring the weird feeling in her stomach. It didn't go away.

She took a deep breath again, but the feeling still didn't go away. She closed her eyes and fidgeted with her fingers.

"T-Tenten!" Hinata's meek voice cried out.

Tenten looked up, to see Hinata and Naruto standing in front of her. Hinata looked pale, paler than she had been before. It was a sickening kind of pale, like she had just seen someone die in front of her. Naruto didn't look any better himself, and his eyes were filled with concern.

"Is s-she alright?"

Tenten shrugged as she stared at the floor. She didn't want look at anyone in the eyes right now. "The doctor didn't say anything yet…" She said gloomily.

"Cheer up Tenten! S-She's gonna be alright!" Naruto said, trying to lighten things up.

Tenten ignored them, as Hinata and Naruto took a seat together next to her. They were quiet, since they didn't know what else to say to cheer up Tenten, or even themselves for that matter.

'_Yeah. Right. She's gonna be alright…'_

* * *

"_Ino… Ino's… in the hospital…"_

Shikamaru panicked. _'Why is she at the hospital? Temari_—_'_ His eyes widened. He ran to his car, and started it up. _'When I talked to her, she seemed to understand what happened… So why did she go ahead and hurt Ino?' _Shikamaru drove all the way to the hospital, contemplating what could have happened.

He stopped the car in the hospital parking lot, walking quickly to the front counter of the hospital. "Yamanaka Ino," he said in a rushed tone as he waited impatiently for the receptionist to find the room. "Room 214."

Even before the nurse could blink, Shikamaru already rushed off. It was rare to see him this frazzled—it was as if he wasn't himself at all. Soon enough, he arrived panting ever so slightly as he came into view of the others. "How is she?" He asked as he walked over to them.

If it were any other situation, he would've cracked a "how troublesome" sentence at them, the way that their eyes were red and puffy, like they just finished watching a sappy romance movie. But this wasn't any other situation—it was a situation that included one of his best friends, as well as girlfriend.

* * *

"Her wound reopened."

"What?"

"Her wound reopened."

"_What?"_

"Her wound—"

"Stop it," Kairi murmured as she rubbed her teary eye. "Stop saying that." She sniffed quietly to herself as she brought her hands up to her face.

"Where?"

No one answered Shikamaru's vague question.

"Where is the doctor?"

Only footsteps echoed in the empty hallway.

_"Where is the—"_

"Stop."

At Neji's commanding voice, Shikamaru stopped. They only stared at each other, as if there wasn't a need for words, as if they were telepathic. "It is pathetic."

"What?" Shikamaru gritted his teeth as he heard the insensitive comment coming from Neji's mouth.

"It is pathetic," Neji repeated.

"You're making it worse Neji," Tenten said softly as she tugged on his sleeve. "Stop provoking—"

"What would you know?" Shikamaru said quietly as his fist tightened. At this point, he was blinded by his anger at Neji's comment. "Is it so pathetic to be worried over someone? Is it so pathetic to wonder what happened to her, why it happened, _how it happened? _Is it that pathetic?"

"Yes."

"Neji!" Tenten stood up as she shoved Neji's arm, although it didn't have any effect on him.

"Well then," Shikamaru stared at the door of the room that Ino was kept in. "I'm pathetic."

All was quiet again, with only the sounds of footsteps in the air. Minute after minute, it was as if the smell of antiseptics grew stronger and stronger, suffocating Tenten. Seeing Shikamaru admit that he was pathetic, seeing him vulnerable; it pained her to see him like that, but no matter how painful it was, she couldn't shed a tear. Not one, not two, not three—it was as if her eyes were getting dryer with each passing moment.

"She got hit in the stomach," Tenten said quietly, explaining the situation to Shikamaru as he sat in the seat two seats away from her. "She had a wound from her pervious incident."

"S-Shikamaru-san..." Hinata spoke up softly as she wrung her hands in front of her. "W-When was there a previous incident?"

"That's what I don't know," Shikamaru mumbled as he closed his eyes.

Silence followed shortly afterwards, leaving Tenten to her troubled thoughts.

* * *

"Are you okay?"

He was the first to break the silence.

She didn't answer, and he pressed no further. Tenten had left shortly after the silence that fell upon the group, and Neji had followed afterwards. She had no idea how, but she somehow ended up outside of the hospital crashing into a few pedestrians along the way. It was as if she wasn't in her right mind, like her body was there, but her consciousness wasn't.

"They used to call me a robot."

Neji listened silently as Tenten spoke, not daring to interrupt (as if he would, in the first place) her self-reminisce.

"It's not like I never tried to cry. It's not like I forced myself to not cry all the time. They just don't come. Is it my fault if I can't produce any tears?"

Silence settled amongst the two as Tenten sat down on a nearby bench. Neji followed her actions, sitting stiffly on the cold hard bench.

"When do you cry Neji? Do you cry when something bad happens? Do you cry when you're in pain?" Tenten looked up at the sky that was covered with clouds, making it look like a white piece of paper. "What's pain?" She asked inaudibly as she looked at her hands. "It's when your heart hurts right? It's when your heart hurts so much that what you feel is so unbearable. I've felt that Neji," Tenten said in a quiet yet painful voice as she looked at him. "I've felt that numerous times, so why don't I ever cry?"

"You are not required to cry," was all Neji said.

Tenten smiled grimly at him, appreciating his effort. "But it seems so inhumane."

"It does not matter what other people think."

Tenten laughed softly at his comment. It seemed so Neji-like, like something only Neji would think of. Of course that would be what he would think, what he would go by in life. It was Neji after all—he was just that type of person. "Yeah," she uttered softly as they continued to sit in silence, staring at the few people who passed by quickly. Everyone was rushing, everyone was rushing to a place they had to be. Tenten only thought of where she was supposed to be going—where _was _she going, anyways? Her goal in life was so ambiguous—she had no actual goal, objective, something she wanted to aim for and succeed.

It seemed as if all the people that passed her ignored everything that was in their way of life, just to get to their goal.

And she didn't want to be like them. Sure, it was nice to have an objective in life, but what was the fun of it when you couldn't stop and enjoy the nice things that happened along the way? What was the point of reaching your goal if you couldn't appreciate the effort you put into it? The people that passed by quickly seemed so focused, so blank as they hurried to their destination. A few of them looked at their watch, which only resulted in hurrying faster along their way.

Even if she thought that, she was in a way, jealous of how determined they all were.

A family of three passed by them, taking their time to walk down the street. The little girl—their daughter, presumably—had a huge grin on her face, as if time had stopped and she was forever in her happy world. Her hands clutched onto her parents' tightly, as she swung their clutched hands back and forth. That smile was reciprocated on her parents' faces—they too, looked like they were having the time of their life.

Tenten smiled slightly at the sight.

"I grew up without parents," Tenten started as she stared at the family of three that eventually passed them. Neji glanced at her; this was the first time he had heard of her past. "Someday, I'll have a family like that."

"Life is unexpected."

Tenten smiled at Neji, her eyes crinkling in delight. The previous sadness that she experienced seemed to be already forgotten in her mind. "I bet you'll have a happy family like that one day, too, Neji."

She continued to smile thoughtlessly as she thought of what the future held. "We'll both have a happy family..."

* * *

She made up her mind.

She wasn't going to sit around and mope after her like this. Nor was she going to let any one of them mope around either. It wasn't as if she was trying to say that Ino wasn't important, that she wasn't worth the tears for, since after all, she had cried plenty for her. But at this point, she couldn't stand it any longer. These people _had _to be cheered up, or else it would drive her to insanity.

"She's not going to die!" Kairi announced, standing up from her seat. Her random outburst startled Hinata, Naruto and Kiba, but Sasuke and Shikamaru remained unaffected as they only stared at her. "It's not like she's going to die," Kairi repeated in a more calm manner.

Hinata took initiative after Kairi as she nodded her head in agreement. "Kairi-chan's right... Ino-chan wouldn't want us to be sad," she commented as she wiped away the remains of tears on her face.

Naruto immediately cheered up at Hinata's comment. His usual smile was brought back to his face as he bounced up and down. "Hinata-chan's right!" He agreed loudly.

"It's not like you'll understand how it feels," Shikamaru muttered quietly as he turned his attention back to the door of the room that Ino was kept in.

Of course, Kairi heard the soft sentence that Shikamaru uttered. "You're wrong," she muttered in a dark voice. "_You're _the one who doesn't understand how it feels. At least she's still alive right? At least she's still living and breathing, at least she's still within your reach."

Shikamaru only narrowed his eyes at her.

"Everyone has obstacles in life," Kairi continued, her glare only getting more intense with each sentence. "We've all overcame them, no matter how small, how big, how hard they are. Lighten the fuck up," she spat out as she walked away, clearly angered by Shikamaru's ignorant actions. She fumed quietly to herself as she walked aimlessly down the hospital corridors, glaring at every innocent nurse that she passed by. They only shrank in fear at the sight of her, hurrying their pace as they passed her.

"Nara's so dumb," Kairi muttered to herself as she crossed her arms. "Stupid, idiotic, piece of—"

"Whoa there," a familiar voice behind her said.

Kairi didn't have to turn around to figure out who the person was. It was self-explanatory—he was the only one who would've came after her like that. Any other normal person would leave her alone in her state of annoyance.

"Go back Kiba," Kairi said as she continued to walk to who-knows-where.

"Not after my heroic scene of running after you," Kiba said in a somewhat proud voice as he fell in step with Kairi. They both walked silently, reaching the entrance of the hospital. To her dismay, it had already started drizzling. Unfortunately for Kiba, she continued to walk out as if the rain wasn't even there. He only stared at the wetness with an intense dislike. He hated getting wet.

Nevertheless, he followed her obediently like a dog.

"Are you okay?" The concern in his voice didn't go unnoticed. Kairi looked at him from the corner of her eyes, but reverted them as soon as he caught her eyes.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Kiba insisted as they continued to walk. They were a block away from the hospital by now.

"Don't go deciding something like that."

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"Figure what out? Don't talk as if you know everything."

"Exactly."

"What in the world are you saying now?" Kairi gave Kiba a strange look as he only flashed his pearly whites at her. When he said nothing more, Kairi sighed. "Her name was Gynda," she said softly as they continued to cross the street. "We were in elementary."

"And...?" Kiba pressed further when she took a long. Irritable (according to Kiba) pause.

"Rain, bus, lake."

From those three simple words, Kiba already understood what had happened. He looked away, knowing that she would have wanted her privacy when her face contorted into what seemed like a crying face. He stayed silent as the rain became louder, drowning out the soft sobs of Kairi.

"They blamed me for her death," she continued as she gained back her composure. "The rain is disgusting," she commented randomly as she held her hand in front of her, letting the rain pelt against her skin. "It really is disgusting," she breathed out, pausing in her steps. "I tried to commit suicide."

Kiba opened his mouth to reprimand her, but as soon as he did, she laughed. It was not the playful laugh that she always had—it was more of a bitter laugh. Kiba knew better than to interrupt her, and he soon closed his mouth.

"And then that idiot stopped me from jumping into that lake."

He already knew who she was talking about. It didn't take a genius to figure out who saved her. He always thought it was odd for a person like Sakura to become friends with a person like Kairi, especially back in their middle school days. Kairi used to be the cynical type of person, the one behind the pranks, the one who made fun of everyone when they did something embarrassing (which was almost always falling for her pranks). Someone like that didn't seem compatible with someone like Sakura. They never even spoke to each other in the first place—he remembered it clearly. They both were in different circles, and Sakura was always with Ino. He found it weird that the next day, he saw Kairi sticking to Sakura like glue. Or the other way around—he was never really sure.

But the way they became friends—he finally understood why Kairi was always so defensive of Sakura back in the days.

"I wanted to shave her head off when she pulled me back," Kairi laughed bitterly again as she continued walking. "Her pink hair was really annoying to look at, especially when I was trying to die."

"You're really stupid," Kiba muttered under his breath as he continued to follow her.

"And now I have my lesson learned," Kairi said, shooting Kiba a somewhat forced smile. "Nara's flipping stupid for being so emo," she said more so to herself than to Kiba. "Sakura's stupid too," she added as an afterthought. "Like she could really solve anything by running away..." Kairi muttered to herself.

"Why would she need run away?" Kiba was confused. Kairi always made him confused; she would always stray from one topic to another, and they didn't really connect in the first place.

"I don't know," Kairi shrugged as she kicked a puddle. "She's weird," she stated as she continuously kicked the puddle, nearly wetting a five year old girl. She smiled apologetically at the little girl when dirty rain water got onto the girl's raincoat. "I don't know how her mind works."

Kiba watched with an amused grin as the little girl ran away to her mother, who glared at Kairi. "You're weird too," Kiba commented.

Kairi only grinned at him.

* * *

"Where's Kairi and Kiba?" Tenten asked curiously as she noticed that the two were gone.

"Making out with each other," Naruto laughed mischievously as Sasuke glared annoyingly at him.

Tenten only rolled her eyes at him. It seemed as if the tension in the air lightened, since Naruto was able to make silly jokes. Shikamaru looked the same when she left, but there was something about the new atmosphere that she couldn't place her finger on.

The smell no longer seemed to suffocate Tenten anymore—instead, what reached her nose was a fresh smell, as if laundry that was sitting in the sun for a mere twelve hours. It was funny how a short walk would change her views this way. She thought silently to herself as she plopped down on the hard hospital chair. Maybe it wasn't the walk itself. Maybe it was the person who accompanied her along the way.

Tenten shook her head to herself. Maybe it was something else. After all, Neji was just another person. For him to be able to cheer her up after that short time—no. She was just over thinking it. He couldn't, or rather, shouldn't be able to do that to her. He was, after all, just another friend.

She took a short glance at Neji, and was a bit surprised when she found him staring at her with mild interest. Not knowing how to react to something like that, she only shot him a sheepish smile as she continued to stare at the blank wall in front of her. He was staring at her—why? She bit her lip silently as she pondered on the reasons as to what made him stare at her. Was she acting weird? Was there something on her face?

She suddenly stopped. Why did she care about why he was looking at her anyways? He was a free person. He could look at anyone he wanted, so why was she that suspicious of why he was looking at her? She bit her lip again as she glanced at him from the corners of her eyes. He wasn't looking at her this time—instead, he was staring at the animated Naruto who was excitedly chatting with Hinata, who blushed every five seconds.

Of course. This was how it was supposed to be—Neji was supposed to be staring at Hinata and Naruto, in order to make sure that nothing happened. Maybe she was just overreacting, like she usually did. He probably wasn't even looking at her. It was Neji after all—why would he look at her in the first place? That was stupid.

Tenten felt stupid.

"Are you kids waiting for Yamanaka Ino?" The doctor came into view as Tenten looked up at him. When Shikamaru got up to answer, the doctor gave them a reassuring smile. "She has awakened. You can visit her if you'd like, but please try to keep the volume to a minimum."

Shikamaru nodded as the doctor gave him another smile before leaving. He only looked at the others before opening the door to Ino's room, with Naruto looking in over his shoulder.

The others followed the suit and one by one, they piled into the mediocre hospital room. A tube was hooked into her arm, and there were beeping machines to her left. Ino smiled warmly, although somewhat forced, at everyone when she noticed their puffy eyes (or rather, just Hinata). Her exhaustion was evident in her eyes as she looked at Tenten.

"Are you alright?" Tenten asked softly, feeling a pang in her heart. The guilt came again as she looked at Ino's tired face.

"I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about," Ino replied, although her voice cracked a bit.

"Ino..." Shikamaru started.

It was then that Tenten noticed the hint. She tugged on Neji's sleeve, dragging him out of the room. One by one the others folowed her example, exiting the room in a straight line. Naruto, however, was a bit reluctant on leaving Shikamaru alone with Ino. Hinata of course, had to coax him out with an offer of ramen in the cafeteria of the hospital.

But that was a lie of course. The cafeteria didn't serve ramen.

"I'm sorry," Shikamaru said softly as he sat down in the chair next to the bed. "None of this would've happened if I broke up with Temari in the first place."

"Yeah," Ino agreed with a frown. "You're stupid for not breaking up with her. You were cheating on me all along."

Shikamaru sighed at the energy she still had left for jokes. "I'm serious!" Ino croaked, knowing that Shikamaru thought that she was joking. "How come you didn't break up with her?"

"I don't know," Shikamaru admitted as he stared at the wall. "I guess I just didn't realize that everything would blow up in my face," he admitted.

"Stupid," Ino muttered under her breath.

"Are you feeling better?"

"What kind of stupid question is that," she scoffed. "Does it look like I'm feeling better? I can't even get to my eight o'clock facial treatment because of you. Do you know how long I've been waiting for? It took me five months to even make the reservation!"

A small smile bloomed on Shikamaru's face as he heard Ino complain. At least she wasn't feeling too bad about being in the hospital.

"You owe me," Ino pouted as she didn't hear anything from Shikamaru.

"How troublesome..."

—

"Well… at least Shikamaru is back to himself!" Kairi said, as she stood up from crouching and listening to the door.

Kairi only arrive minutes after the group left the room so that Shikamaru could be alone with Ino. The moment that Kairi found out that they were having their 'alone time', she rushed towards the door to eavesdrop on the couple. Of course, Kiba and Naruto only followed her example, snickering a couple of times at something 'interesting' that they've heard. Tenten only shook her head at their immature actions. "Do you people not know the meaning of privacy?"

Kairi only laughed at Tenten whereas Kiba gave her a sheepish smile. "What are you trying to say!" Naruto shouted.

Tenten only sighed as Hinata giggled. Sasuke smirked, and Neji scoffed.

* * *

_Edit—Saturday, May 15, 2010_

I hate bubble tea. Do you know what bubble tea is? It's just this Asian drink with tapioca in it. I used to like it, but now I find it disgusting. Don't hate me if you love it; it's just that it tastes weird to me now. If you do know what bubble tea is, tell me, which one is your favorite drink? (: I love passion fruit green tea. It's awesome;)

Okay so uh, I changed a lot of the things around here. ...yeah. :O

WhippedCoffee(:  
_i have a craving for parfaits._


	14. Dec 11, Mon

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Twenty - three_

**Chapter 14**—Exposed

Only a week passed since Ino was admitted into the hospital, and today was the day that she was released. Her time of discharge was 6 PM—and at this time, she was happily eating the apple that Shikamaru brought for her. "Yum," she said as she ate the apple. Truthfully, if this was any other day, she would turn down or even throw out the apple because of how sugary it tastes, but at this point, she was desperate for anything edible. Hospital food was disgu—she finally figured out why people disliked hospital food from the week that she spent there.

"I would be eating that right now…" Chouji grumbled, as he eyed that apple possessively.

Ino pointedly ignored Chouji as she continued to take a bit out of the apple. Chouji only whimpered as she took bite after bite into what he named 'his apple'. He continued to stare as he munched into his own apple.

"Shouldn't you guys be in school?" Ino asked as she wondered why they were here. There was no clock in the room, and she had only woke up half an hour ago. That meant that school should've still been in session, but why were they here?"

"Did the hospital make you mental? School ended an hour ago," Shikamaru answered as he stared at the ceiling lazily.

Ino's mouth formed an 'o' shape as a frown followed shortly afterwards. So her sleeping times had been off; oh well. "It's not like there's a clock in here," she said as she rolled her eyes, taking another bite into her apple.

"Alright, that's enough!" Chouji announced, standing up. "I'm sorry, but as much as I like seeing you feel better Ino, I just can't stand your lovey-dovey moments!" Chouji cried, as he raced out of the room.

Ino stared after him, wondering what in the world he was talking about. There were no physical interactions between them—only verbal. So what was Chouji going off about? Ino scoffed as she took another bite into her apple. Shikamaru had his brow raised, as if he was waiting for something to happen. Chouji soon came back a second later and grabbed the fruits basket. At that, Shikamaru sighed.

"And I'm taking the fruits with me!" He said, as he walked out of the room.

So that was his plan. Ino laughed at Chouji's way of stealing all the food for himself, as Shikamaru mumbled, 'How troublesome' and 'I bought that for Ino'. When Ino's laughter subsided, she took a glance at Shikamaru, who was slouching in his chair. "So… how's everything at school?" Ino asked, as she took another bite of her apple.

Shikamaru glanced at Ino, wondering if that was what she really wanted to know. "It's going fine. Word got out about you being in the hospital though. Temari was busted for that by Tsunade." Shikamaru replied as he stared out the window and at the clouds in the sky.

"Well, at least she got in trouble for what she did." Ino said, as she also stared at the clouds in the sky.

"But you are doing better, right?" Shikamaru asked, looking at Ino.

"Shika-kun, I thought we covered this already! I'm perfectly fine! Didn't you see me laughing just a minute ago? Sometimes I wonder if you really are a genius," Ino joked.

"Haha. Very funny Ino." Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.

Ino giggled at the sight of him rolling his eyes.

"Am I interrupting something?" A voice asked.

Shikamaru looked at the person. He narrowed his eyes.

"Temari…"

* * *

"Alright…" Kairi said, as she scrunched her eyebrows. "A little more to the left Kiba!" Kairi shouted, as Kiba moved the banner a little to the left.

"This?" Kiba asked, looking at Kairi.

Kairi thought about it for a few moments before nodding. "Perfect!"

Kiba slowly climbed down from the ladder, and stood beside Kairi as he examined his work. "Hey, I did a pretty good job."

"Don't flatter yourself, Kiba. We still have a lot more work to do," Kairi said as she grinned.

Tenten looked at Kairi and Kiba, and wondered why they seemed to hand around each other more than usual. It was weird—it seemed as if Ino's hospitalization brought everyone closer together. Tenten absentmindedly tied balloons to a chair as she sighed to herself. Her face flushed as she thought about what happened with Neji. She never expected him to come after her, nor did she expect him to actually listen to her ramblings. She snuck a glance at Neji, who was working with Sasuke on the sound system.

"Eh? Why is your face all red, Tenten?" Naruto asked curiously as he was passing by her.

"What?" Tenten blinked at Naruto, who was staring at her with a confused expression on his face. "Oh! It's nothing," Tenten said, waving off the matter. "IT's just a little hot in here, don't you think?" She lied, fanning herself with her hand.

"Oh really?" Naruto pondered on the thought for a while before grinning at her. "You're right! It _is _kind of hot in here!" He agreed as he wiped his forehead. "I didn't even notice!" He said with unexplainable happiness. He walked off to the kitchen laughing to himself, with three bags of grocery.

Tenten let out a sigh of relief when she saw that he was gone. She turned around just to make sure—she was beyond paranoid. When no one was near her, she let out another breath of relief. Memories of what happened flooded her mind, making her slightly more red than before. To her, it didn't seem that bad—she ranted a little, talked about what happened—so why did she feel so embarrassed at what she said?

_"I bet you'll have a happy family like that one day, too, Neji."_

_"We'll both have a happy family..."_

The line kept echoing in her mind as she continued to tie another group of balloons to another chair. Why did she say that? Why was she so mindless when she caught up in something? Why did she make it sound like she was going to have a family with him? She bit her lip as she snuck another glance at Neji. Did he think anything of it? Did he take her words seriously? Did he think that she wanted to have a family with him?

Thoughts plagued her mind as she tied the next group of balloons to whatever her hands could grab. And that was, to her dismay, Neji's hair.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Tenten blinked, and dropped her hands as soon as she realized that she had a lock of the infamous Hyuuga's hair. She laughed nervously as she held up her hands, as if she was surrendering. "I didn't notice you there, Neji..."

That didn't go so well.

Neji only glanced at her weirdly before walking back to Sasuke. Great. Now she was an idiot in his eyes. Tenten sighed to herself as she correctly grabbed a chair, tying the balloons onto them. As soon as she was done with all the chairs, she sighed and plopped into one that was already pulled out. Unluckily for her, she missed the seat by an inch and fell onto the floor. The loud _thud _gained everyone's attention, who only stared weirdly at her.

"Oops," she said, giving them a sheepish smile as she looked at Neji.

He only stared weirdly at her again, before continuing his work. She sighed as she got up slowly, using the chair for support. Deciding that she need a drink, she headed towards the kitchen. After all, getting a drink couldn't result in something worse like falling down on your butt.

—

"Hey Hinata," Tenten said, as she sat on those spinning chairs at the kitchen table. She put her elbows on the table as she looked at what Hinata was making.

"Hey Tenten. D-Do you want anything?" Hinata asked, as she looked up from mixing a batch of cupcakes.

"It's okay. I'll get it myself. You seem to be busy. How many of those are you going to bake?" Tenten asked as she took a cup and poured in punch from the punch bowl.

"Not m-much. But Kiba-kun s-said to make a lot since he s-said that people will be hungry…" Hinata said, as she continued mixing it.

Tenten sighed. That was so like Kiba. "Here, let me help you!" She said as she took dough. "I'll make a batch of cookies! Alright Hinata?"

Truthfully, Hinata was a bit scared at what Tenten was going to make. She heard stories of Tenten's failure in home economics—she either burned down the food or burned what was making the food. It didn't matter what she was making—she ultimately failed in everything that she tried to make. "...okay," Hinata said as she smiled at Tenten's brimming confidence. How badly could it go?

"By the way, where's Naruto? I saw him come in here with a bag of groceries…" Tenten said, as she thought to the scene when Naruto embarrassed her out there.

"Oh… Well, since he b-bought everything that we needed, I t-told him to help out t-the others a little." Hinata said.

"Oh…"

—

"I'm telling you that this wire goes over here." Sasuke said, pointing to a place on the huge speakers.

"And I'm telling you that it is here," Neji said, pointing to another place.

They both went into a glaring contest. Naruto came to them noticing their inactiveness. He was about to say something until he noticed that they were having a glaring contest. This wasn't good—that meant that if he said something to them, the only response he would get was the other side of their fists. As he was walking away, he noticed a piece of wire on the floor. Cautiously taking it, he plugged it into the speakers slowly so that the two would not notice him.

Mission succeeded; Naruto successfully walked away as they continued to glare at each other. He spotted his next targets; Kiba and Kairi. He grinned as he saw Kiba on the ladder, trying to get the streamers up on the ceiling.

"Hey guys!" Naruto greeted loudly.

Kiba was startled by the sudden shout, and lost his footing on the ladder, which caused him to crash into the floor face first. Naruto didn't say anything to that and neither did Kairi. She only shook her head in shame, which some mutters of 'idiot' under her breath. Who she was directing that to thought, Kiba didn't know.

Naruto winced as he watched Kiba lay unmoving on the floor. "That must've hurt..." He said as he sympathized with Kibia. That happened to him once before, and Naruto felt the pain back in his face. It was not a good experience at all.

Kiba groaned as he just laid there on the ground. "Ya think…"

Kairi sighed. "Kiba, get your face off the floor. It doesn't hurt that much!"

Kiba didn't move from his spot. "Oh yea? Then why don't you try falling off a ladder and face first onto the ground?"

Kairi sighed again. "Oh whatever. Besides, the rug broke your fall."

"No. My face broke my fall…" Kiba said, as he got up slowly.

Kairi shook her head, and went into the kitchen. Naruto looked around nervously, taking the chance to walk away slowly when Kiba was too occupied with the pain of his face. He slyly snuck off to the kitchen, unnoticed by Kiba. Mission two succeeded.

—

"Ta-daa!" Tenten said, as she got her cookies out of the oven.

Kairi walked towards Tenten, and took a cookie. As soon as she was about to bit into it, Naruto came swiftly and took the cookie in Kairi's hand. He grinned and chomped onto it before she could reprimand him for stealing it. "MY TEETH!" Naruto cried as he threw the cookie on the floor. He placed his hand over his mouth immediately as he stared at that cookie at the ground, which, surprisingly, wasn't broken.

"...Did you make that Tenten?" Kairi asked as she stared at the cookies weirdly. When she heard no response from Tenten, she took that as a yes. She grabbed the cookie off the floor and hit it hard on the metal pan. She looked at Naruto with a grin," Thank god you ate that for me."

Naruto whimpered as he ran out to the living room with the cries of, "My teeth! I can't eat ramen anymore!"

"You backed a hockey puck," Kairi accused Tenten. "I thought we agreed that you would never bake again."

"Well, it isn't as easy as it looks!" Tenten protested.

Hinata giggled to herself as she took a hard cookie. "I'm sorry Tenten," Hinata said as she examined the hard cookie.

Tenten sighed. "It's alright Hinata…"

"Yeah, I can't blame you for laughing." Kairi said, giggling herself.

"Well then, why don't you try to bake a cookie then?" Tenten said.

"Fine. And I can show you that I could bake a better one too." Kairi said, as she took dough.

* * *

"What are you doing here Temari?" Shikamaru hissed.

"I didn't come—"

"Don't say another word. I don't care what you're going to say, and I don't want to hear it. Leave," he said in a commanding voice, much different from the lazy tone he had before with Ino.

"I didn't know—"

"Leave," he repeated as he glared at Temari. "I don't want you to hurt Ino any longer."

Temari only stared at Shikamaru with sadness in her eyes. "I didn't come here to hurt her. I came to apologize. That car accident from before..." She paused when she noticed how Shikamaru's eyes intensified. "I didn't know that it happened. Kin told me that she crashed into Yamanaka. I didn't plan for it to happen."

"Stop, Shika-kun..." Ino said as he opened his mouth. "She's not lying..."

Shikamaru closed his mouth as he stared at Ino. How could she believe Temari?

Temari nodded. "I am… I didn't mean for Yamanaka to end up in the hospital…," she avoided their stares. "I just wanted her to feel the pain that I had when I found out that you cheated on me. I never meant for this to happen. I wasn't even planning on hurting her like this. When she brought up Kobaji..." Temari trailed off.

Shikamaru didn't say. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "I should've broken up with you."

Temari looked startled. She smiled bitterly as she understood what he was saying. It hurt, but at least it was the truth. "Yes. You should've, you stupid ass," she said. "None of this would've happened if you would've just broken up with me." The words felt horrible on her tongue as she said them, but she knew that she had to get over it.

Shikamaru only rolled his eyes.

"Get out, Nara," Temari suddenly said as she looked at Ino. Shikamaru gave her a questioning glance. "I need to talk to Yamanaka."

He sighed as he got off his chair slowly. It seemed like he was taking years to reach the door—Temari gave him a satisfying push out the door, smiling with content as she heard him mutter a string of colorful words that followed a loud _thud_.

"Yamanaka."

"Temari."

"...Sorry." Termari said. "I guess things got out of hand when you mentioned..." She trailed off, not being able to say his name. She didn't want to have to say it more than once a day.

"It's alright," Ino said, although it didn't sound like it was okay. She was still a bit miffed at the fact that she had to miss her facial treatment last week. "I shouldn't have done that in the first place. You were just pissing me off," Ino stated bluntly, ignoring the fact that she could possibly anger Temari.

Temari however, didn't find anything wrong with the way Ino was putting it bluntly. "And you pissed me off too. Now that we have that cleared up," Temari said, taking a step towards the door. "I have to go. See you around, Yamanaka."

As she walked out of the room, Shikamaru called out to Temari. "Come with us somewhere."

She raised a brow at his odd action. Wasn't it just a few minutes ago that he was edgy about leaving her alone with Ino?

"You could bring your brothers," he said. "Kairi's throwing a party for Ino."

"Well if you insist," Temari said with a lopsided grin.

* * *

"It's perfect!"

Kairi shoved the batch of cookies under Tenten's nose. The latter only stared at it with a questionable look. Truthfully, Kairi wasn't that good of a baker herself. She didn't know how Kairi did it, but somehow along the way of burnt cookies and undone cakes, she managed to pass home ec. It was truly suspicious really.

Naruto greedily took one, opening his mouth to get ready to eat it. Instead, it slid right out of his hands. "What?" He shouted, as he looked at it with wide eyes. He was persistent though—he continued to try to grab the liquidy cookie.

"You baked soup," Tenten said, staring at Kairi.

"Is t-that even possible…?" Hinata asked, her eyes also as wide as Naruto's.

"Aw man! You two are horrible bakers!" Naruto groaned, finally giving up on the cookie.

Tenten and Kairi scoffed. Who was he to tell them that they couldn't bake? He couldn't bake himself—well, they really didn't know if he could, but since all he knew was how to eat, it was a plausible assumption. "Like you could do any better!" Kairi said as Tenten nodded along with what Kairi was saying.

"Yes, I sure can!" Naruto said, getting his own dough.

Hinata was a bit scared, honestly.

* * *

"Let's sign you out," Shikamaru said, as he helped Ino out of the hospital bed.

"Wait. I need to get changed first. Get out please!" Ino yelled, pushing Shikamaru out the door.

Soon enough, Ino finished changing into her clothes. She met Shikamaru in the hallway with freshly applied make up on her face and a huge grin to match her attitude. She was finally getting out of this hospital, and that alone made her the happiest girl on the planet.

They were on their way to Ino's house when Ino noticed something wrong with the whole situation. "Why are you in such a hurry to go to my house?"

"You'll see." Shikamaru said.

"Ugh… I think I like the lazy you so much better. Less to deal with," Ino said, as she rolled her eyes.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes too, and comfortable silence filled the air as they waited to arrive to her house.

* * *

"Here you guys go!" Naruto yelled, shoving the cookies under their noses.

Kairi and Tenten each took one, and examined it carefully. It was odd; there was nothing wrong with the cookies, physically. Tenten carefully bit it, to find it awfully delicious. "Wow… Naruto, I had no idea! I mean, you were always eating and never making… I can't believe that you actually made this…" Tenten said in amazement, as she finished off the rest of the cookie.

Kairi stared at Tenten. "Tenten, did you hit your head on one of those hockey pucks that you made? There is no way in the world that Naruto could've—"

Kairi stopped when Naruto stuffed the cookie down her throat. Her eyes widened as she choked on it, but when she swallowed it, she was also amazed.

"Okay, I am sorry about what I said to you Naruto! This is… amazing! I mean, who would've actually thought that you would've made this great cookie, which is so unlike you at all!"

Naruto smiled. "Thanks! It was after watching Hinata-chan for so long, that I practically memorized how to make it!"

Somehow, Tenten doubted that Naruto could remember anything, even after he had seen it so many times, but she didn't question how he did it. As long as it was edible and she didn't get diarrhea from it, she was fine with the cookies.

Hinata blushed from his blunt statement of actually observing her when she baked.. She took a cookie, and bit into it. "This r-really is good, Naruto-kun." In fact, it might even be better than the cookies she baked herself.

Naruto only grinned as he received the compliment from Hinata.

"Oh god this is good," Kairi melted as she grabbed another cookie. It was as if it contained drugs—they were too addicting for her. "Naruto! You have to bake more of these! Ino and Shikamaru will probably be coming in two or three hours, and we need some food!"

"I'll help!" tenten offered.

"No!" Kairi said quickly. "I mean..." She laughed as she stalled for time to think of an exucse. "I need help with the decorations! Kiba can't do anything right at all after falling on his face. It's like he lost brain cells," she added as an afterthought.

The door bell rung as Kairi ran to the door way. A diversion—perfect. She opened to door and immediately frowned at the sight. "What are you doing here?" She asked defensively, not acknowledging the two beside her.

Temari smirked, enjoying her discomfort with her presence. "Calm down. Shikamaru told me to come."

Kairi eyed her with doubt before stepping aside to let her in. "If you're lying then you'll have to watch your back," Kairi warned as the three stepped in.

"What am I, stupid?" Temari rolled her eyes as she took off her shoes. "Why would I come here if I hadn't settled things with Yamanaka?"

Kairi frowned at her rotten attitude. "Whatever."

* * *

_Edit—Saturday, May 15, 2010 _

So we don't stop, we can't stop, until we reach the top_**!**_

Uhm. So, I changed the conversations with Shikamaru and Ino a bit, but kept most the things the same. Yeup...

WhippedCoffee(:  
_hohum. Review please(: _


	15. Dec 11 & 12, Mon & Tues

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Twenty–Three & Twenty–Four_

**Chapter 15**—Stupid Bets

"Surprise!"

"What the…" Ino looked around at everyone, with a confused look.

Of course, who wouldn't be confused when a girl comes home to her own house with her friends in her house without any key or without the girl herself?

Kairi smiled with delight. "Well? What do you think?"

"What is this for…?" Ino asked in confusion.

Kairi sighed. "Did that hospital do anything to your brain? We threw you surprise party because you were coming home today!" Kairi said.

"That would explain why you guys are in my house without me…" Ino said, nodding her head.

"Sometimes… I wonder how you got into high school…" Kairi thought with a sigh.

"Let's get this party started then!" Ino yelled, throwing her bag of clothes of the floor.

—

"So..." Tenten said, leaning against the wall next to Gaara, holding a punch.

She didn't know why she went over to him. It was as if his lonely figure was beckoning for someone to talk to him. She knew better than to talk to him though; she heard rumors of what he could do. But as always, she went against what she was supposed to do and instead started a conversation with him. Although it really wasn't a conversation, since he wasn't replying to anything that she was saying.

Gaara didn't reply to her. It was as if she wasn't even there—he only stared ahead at the other people, although it seemed like he wasn't really seeing the people in the room, either. It was more like he was in his own world.

"So, you're Kankuro's brother right?"

Again, he didn't say anything.

"Yup..." Tenten muttered, staring into her cup of punch. This was really awkward.

_'Man... are almost all the guys around here silent?_' Tenten thought as she watched the punch in the cup swirl. "So—"

"Gaara! C'mon! We gotta get home!" Temari suddenly called out, waving Gaara towards the door.

Gaara silently pushed himself off the wall, and walked over to Temari without the slightest hesitation. Tenten stared at his back as he made his way to Temari. Her mouth slowly dropped open in disbelief.

"Trying to catch flies with your mouth, eh?" Ino asked as she pass by Tenten.

—

"This party is going great, isn't it?" Kairi asked Tenten, as she leaned on the wall next to her.

Although Gaara had left with Temari and Kankuro an h our ago, Tenten was still a bit miffed at the fact that she was so easily ignored. Even Neji wasn't as bad—he at least gave her a glare or some sort of physical motion that stated that he didn't like her presence. Gaara though—it was as if he barely noticed her there.

"I still can't believe that Naruto made better cookies that us," Tenten commented as she located the cookies on the table that was beside them.

Kairi scoffed as she grabbed one. "Obviously. Any other cookie would've been better than your hockey puck. Did you even pay attention to the amount of ingredients you were putting in?"

"Yes," Tenten said defensively. Kairi only rolled her eyes. "Well at least I didn't make soup," she muttered under her breath.

"And you can do better? If I remember correctly, weren't you the one who burned the oven?"

"**You **were the one who told me to push that button!"

"And you believed me!"

"Hey, I was new! I didn't know what to do!"

"And you didn't know how to bake either."

"Weren't you the one who burned soup?"

"It was water! And I didn't burn it; I only managed to make it burst into flames!"

"That's just as bad!"

"G-Guys? Why are y-you—"

"Stay out of this!" Both of them shouted..

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you can't even boil water."

"I can so!"

"Remember that time when you were trying to burn water, but didn't turn off the stove when it was done? Remember how it burned the pan?" Tenten asked, making Kairi blush in embarrassment.

"That was an accident! There were plenty of times when I boiled water!"

"Yeah, and made it burst into flames…" Tenten said under her breath.

"If you're so full of yourself, why don't we have a cooking contest?" Kairi asked, crossing her arms while smirking.

Tenten eyed Kairi. "What are the stakes?"

"Loser does the winner's homework for a month." Kairi said.

"Aren't you the confident one? Deal," Tenten said, going to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?"

"Aren't we going to start now?"

—

"This is stupid!" Naruto cried. "We all know that you guys can't cook!"

"Naruto! At least be a little more encouraging!" Ino scolded, smacking Naruto on the back of his head.

"OWW!" Naruto yelled, rubbing the back of his head. "Well it's true! Tenten baked a hockey puck, and Kairi baked soup! Can you blame me if I think that they totally suck at cooking?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh c'mon! It can't be _that _bad!"

Naruto stared at Ino. "Yes. Oh yes it can. You weren't the one who was eating it!"

Ino rolled her eyes again. "Whatever." Naruto was only making a big deal, as always. How bad could their cooking get? It wasn't brain surgeon for crying out loud—the two of them couldn't fail that much at cooking.

Naruto grumbled as his warning was once again, shot down. No one listened to him. No one at all; they all dismissed his cries and shouts as something that he was overreacting with. But they'll see—they'll see the horror that he had to go through (although he was exaggerating at this point). And when they do see that he was right, he will laugh in their face while they apologize to him on their knees at his feet. He cackled to himself, making Ino shoot him a disturbed look.

Kiba sighed as Kairi put on her apron. "Well, this is kinda dumb…" Kiba said quietly as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Too bad Kairi heard it. "You think it's stupid…?"

"Calm down…" Tenten said, restraining Kairi from hitting Kiba.

"Why can't we settle this at school?" Naruto asked.

"Hello? How can we do it at school if we can't use the kitchen?" Kairi asked.

"Oh, but you can! Tsunade-baachan is getting the school ready for a cooking contest on the roof during the springtime," Naruto said. Suddenly, he looked worried. "Aw man! I wasn't suppose to tell you guys that!"

"Why?" Tenten asked.

"I-It was suppose to be a s-surprise. Naruto-kun and I were running errands for Tsunade-sama to get the cooking c-contest ready," Hinata explained.

So that was why Hinata went to school earlier than usual.

"This will be so cool!" Ino squealed. "Then it's settled! We'll settle this when the cooking contest is held at the school!"

Kairi groaned as she took her apron off. "I wanted to cook so badly!"

Tenten scoffed. "Why? So you can poison all of us?"

Kairi glared at Tenten. "No, just you."

Shikamaru yawned. "Troublesome…" Ino sighed along with Shikamaru, and nodded as they both walked out of the kitchen. Kiba, who this time didn't resist the urge to roll his eyes, followed the two out of the kitchen.

"But why would I want to eat your disgusting food?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you couldn't resist eating my great food compared to yours."

"Oh please! If I wanted that kind of food, I could've just eaten from the dumpster!"

"Well why don't you then?"

"Would you guys SHUT UP! You're both giving me a headache!" Sasuke yelled, glaring at both of them.

Both of them huffed and turned away.

* * *

—**Hyuuga Estate**—

"Ahh! One more week and its paradise!" Tenten said, flopping back on Hinata's bed.

Hinata giggled as she stepped into the bathroom. Tenten could still hear Hinata, though. "Yes, but skiing is hard."

"How long did it take you?" Tenten asked, as she stared up at Hinata's white ceilings.

"I-It didn't take me long to learn it, but I had a lot of bruises on t-the end of the day," came her voice from the bathroom.

"…Bruises? Nothing I can't handle! What about Neji?" Tenten asked, as she flipped over on Hinata's bed, and started playing with one of Hinata's stuffed animals.

Tenten could hear Hinata giggling in the bathroom. "Neji-niisan snowboards."

Tenten pondered on the thought. Snowboarding sounded better than skiing to Tenten. "Hey, that sounds fun. Which one is easier?" Tenten asked, as she put the stuffed animal back into place on the bed.

Tenten could hear Hinata pause before speaking. "I d-don't really know… I've never s-snowboarded before…" She stepped out of the bathroom in pajamas.

"Okay, then! I'll just try both!" Tenten shouted optimistically as she grinned at Hinata.

Hinata smiled at Tenten. "You might need some warm clothes for the trip. They sometimes supply you with some of the stuff, but you should really bring your own."

Tenten flopped back down on the bed. "It's gonna be so much fun…" Cold snow, hot chocolate, exciting skiing... Although the thought of painful bruises downed her mood, she still thought it would be a fun trip. She couldn't wait until they arrived at the ski resort; it was her first vacation and she couldn't wait to spend it with her friends.

* * *

_Day Twenty-Four_

"Naruto, put that bowl down… you're making me lose my appetite," Tenten said, looking at Naruto slurp down his 'home-made ramen'.

"But _—slurp—_ I'm so hungry!" Naruto said, as he ate—no wait, more like _inhaled _his ramen. "I only had three bowls of ramen for breakfast!" Naruto whined, as he replied to her in middle of slurps.

Tenten cringed. "At least talk when you're done swallowing!" Tenten shouted.

Naruto ignored what Tenten said, and continued to slurp his ramen. Kairi rolled her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to play basketball with the other guys? Mostly, you pig out when you get home so you can play."

"Well… I was just so _—slurp—_ hungry! I only had—"

"We… got what you had, Naruto," Ino interrupted, as she chewed on her lettuce slowly, staring at how much Naruto was eating. Her face contorted into disgust when she saw a piece of noodle stuck to the side of his lips. "You'd think we'd be used to this by now…" she mumbled quietly, as she looked down at her own food.

"Okay! I'm done! I'll go play basketball now!" Naruto declared, as he got up.

"N-Naruto-kun… The period's almost over, the others should be getting back anytime s-soon," Hinata said, stopping Naruto.

"Right," Kairi said, as she stared past Naruto's head. "Oh, look, here they come anyways." Kairi said, pointing to them.

"Aw man!" Naruto pouted, as he sat back down.

"It's because you eat too slow," Sasuke said, putting the basketball on the table., taking a seat next to Kairi.

Tenten nearly laughed at his comment. He wouldn't have said that if he saw the way Naruto was inhaling his ramen—although she knew that he probably knows how Naruto eats, anyways. The rest of the guys followed his actions and took a seat. As soon as they were settled in, Ino made a face. With subtle actions, she moved closer towards Tenten, muttering a quick, "They stick." Tenten only grinned at Ino's disgust.

Neji was drinking his water, with a towel around his neck. Shikamaru was chugging down his water, as sweat dripped from his forehead. Whereas Sasuke, who was just smirking at Naruto. "I eat at the right pace!" Naruto said defensively.

"Ugh, sometimes, I think you have an issue with ramen…" Tenten said, as she tried to ignore the fact that Neji's whole body was only an inch away from her, emitting some sort of heat.

"You just noticed?" Ino asked dryly.

"Hey! I don't have an issue!" Naruto defended.

"Please. You couldn't stop eating ramen if you wanted to. Or stop talking…" Sasuke said, smirking.

"Is that a bet?" Naruto asked loudly.

"What if it is?" Sasuke asked.

"Then… I bet that you can't say more than 15 words in a sentence!" Naruto yelled, grinning at him, as if that it was the best bet in the whole world.

"20 bucks?" Sasuke asked, raising a brow.

"20 bucks." Naruto repeated. "This is such easy money…" Naruto said giddily. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he drank his water.

"Guys, geez, it's just ramen. How bad can it get?" Tenten asked.

"It can get bad. Isn't it like how you are with sports?" Neji asked.

"So what? Sports are a hobby!"

"And so is eating ramen!"

"No it's not," Kairi said almost automatically.

"Well it is to me!" Naruto said.

Kairi and Ino rolled their eyes as Shikamaru muttered his all time favorite phrase, 'how troublesome.'

"Face it Tenten," Neji said as he wiped his forehead with a towel (which Tenten really didn't understand. He had no sweat on any part of his body). "You cannot stop playing sports. Moreover, talk like a girl," Neji added as an afterthought.

"Yes I can," Tenten insisted. "You know, I bet you can't smile every time someone talks to you."

Neji stared at her. "Is that a bet?"

"It is if you agree to it."

"I agree."

"Loser does all the homework?"

"Deal."

"Aren't they so immature?" Kairi asked Ino.

"Yeah, they are." Ino agreed, as she rolled her eyes.

"Really? Kairi, I bet that you can't stop complaining or insulting or whining about something," Tenten said, smirking.

"Ugh, wipe that smirk off your face," Kairi said, glaring at Tenten. "Seriously, I think that you're taking on from Neji," Kairi said.

"There you go again," Ino sang.

"Ino, I bet that you can't stop being happy for more than a week," Kairi said dryly.

"I'll take that bet!" Ino said.

Shikamaru sighed as he wiped his forehead with his towel that he retrieved from his gym bag. "How troublesome…" Shikamaru said once again. "What's with all the bets?"

"I bet that you can't saying how troublesome," Ino said with a sly smile.

"Unlike you, Ino, I have more self control. I'll take it." Shikamaru said.

"Winner gets 20 bucks?" Shikamaru nodded with a sigh.

"Hey guys," Kiba asked when he walked into the lunch room.

"Kiba? What are you doing here? You don't have lunch this period…" Kairi said.

"I had an errand to run for Kakashi-sensei. Apparently he wanted someone to pick up his new arrival of books…" Kiba said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Oh. Kiba… how much do you want to bet that you can't stop being sarcastic, and start being perky?" Kairi asked.

"Why…?" Kiba asked, raising his brows.

"Oh, no reason. Well…?"

"20 bucks. I mean, how hard is it?" Kiba asked, shrugging.

"But… guys, how do we know if we're not doing all these stuff when we're at home?" Tenten asked.

Kairi pondered for a moment. "Why don't we stay at the Hyuuga Manor? Hinata, do you think your father will mind if we stayed there?"

Hinata shook her head. "For some r-reason, he's always welcoming guests…" She said unsurely. It really was strange.

"Great! Then it's settled—we all stay at Hinata's house!" Kairi yelled. "And Neji's!" She added.

Kiba nodded, and then left for the office. Tenten looked after Kiba before turning to Kairi. "Why did you make that bet with Kiba?" Tenten asked.

Kairi shrugged. "This seems like an easy way to make money. Besides—I need new shoes." Kairi said with a grin, as she looked at her shoes under the table.

Tenten sighed, and rolled her eyes. _'This is going to be interesting… I wonder how long we'll keep this up.'_

* * *

—**Hyuuga Manor: 6:00**—

The doorbell rang, breaking Tenten out of her reverie. She took a deep breath, and opened the door. "Oh my god! I'm so glad that you guys can make it! Hi Kairi and Kiba!" Tenten yelled.

Kiba raised a brow. "What's with her…?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "It's just this bet that Neji made with her. He said that she couldn't stop talking or playing sports or talk like a girl. Isn't that lame?" Kairi asked, as she rolled her eyes again. She stared at Tenten's smiling face before her face contorted to an expression of disgust. "And that isn't even how a girl talks. Do you see me talking like that?"

"Well, this is the best I can come up with," Tenten said in her insanely fake and annoying voice. Kairi nearly twitched, wanting to slap tape over Tenten's mouth. "Wwhy don't you guys come in? And didn't you guys start your bet yet?" Tenten asked with a bright smile on her face.

"Not yet. Seriously, if you're going to talk like that, I'm going to have to shoot you." Kairi pushed past Tenten, who frowned at her actions. Kiba followed shortly afterwards, shrugging at Tenten when she shot him a questioning look.

Tenten rolled her eyes as she shut the door after them. "Fine," she deadpanned, her voice dropping down to a low octave. "Neji's such a cheater," Tenten complained as they walked up the stairs. "I took a nap as soon as I went to my room, and the moment I wake up, there's a basketball next to me! If he was there I would've thrown it at his face..." She grumbled to herself.

"Well, why don't you just cheat back? I mean, you guys didn't make rules or anything, right?" Kairi suggested as they continued to walk up the rather long flight of stairs.

"You're right…" Tenten said, thinking about it for a while.

Kairi grinned. "Well, we wouldn't do such a thing like that, right Kiba? I mean, we would _never _cheat!"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "_Righhht_. Of course we won't."

Kairi tsked at Kiba. "What did we say about sarcasm?"

"The game didn't even start yet!"

"Well, just warning you. Anyways, I'm going to unpack, so see ya guys later!" Kairi yelled, as she closed the door behind her.

"It's like she lives here… She knows where everything is, and she already knows which room she's staying it…" Tenten said.

"Well… that's Kairi… A creepy kind of girl," Kiba said, shivering. "Well, I'm assuming that this room is mine. Later," Kiba said, waving.

"Later." Tenten replied back, even though Kiba already shut the door.

* * *

—**6:30**—

It was typical. Sasuke occupied the armchair, Naruto occupied the place on the floor next to Hinata, and Tenten and Kairi were sprawled on the couch. Neji and Shikamaru both sat respectively away from each other, taking the ends of the couch next to Tenten and Kairi's. Ino, as always, took initiative and was going through the racks of movies.

"Why don't we watch a movie?" Ino suggested, holding a random DVD up.

"Yeah, like that went so well last time," Kairi said as she rolled her eyes.

"There! A complaint! You lose!" Ino shouted triumphantly with a big smile on her face.

"That was not a complaint! That was sarcasm, which by the way, you didn't say anything about," Kairi said defensively as she crossed her arms. She smiled when she knew that she had won.

Ino slumped down and grumbled, "Fine…"

"Okay… since that was over… Why don't we do something fun?" Tenten asked in a hyper voice.

Neji tried to smile. Kairi stared at him, and then to Tenten. She was about to open her mouth to say, _'Nice job, Tenten, look what you created,'_ but then shut her mouth. No—she had to watch what she was going to say. As much as she wanted to evade Ino's hawk like ears that could pick out her implied insults, she couldn't really, unless she thought about every word she was going to say. It was going to be hard—she had to think before she actually speak, now.

Ino noticed Kairi's hesitation and smiled to herself. _'I really do deserve a pat on the back. Why isn't anyone thanking me yet? We don't have to hear Kairi's lame insults anymore. I really __**do**__ deserve a pat on the back...'_

Tenten resisted the urge to puke. This wasn't good for her. Talking in this voice wasn't going to last long, she knew it. Five minutes into the game, and she already lost her sanity. Why did she agree to it? Why did she have to get big headed and agree to something that she know she was going to get a headache from? Okay, so she really didn't know that it would be this hard, but still. She glowered at Neji. He was going to be the cause of her death.

"Okay guys! Why don't we play… Spin the bottle?" Kiba asked, holding up a bottle.

Kairi stared at Kiba with a horrified expression. _'Oh God, look at what __**I've **__created…' _

Kiba could feel himself wanting to twitch. _'This feels so wrong saying this… I blame Kairi for making me all… perky!'_

"Wow… I never knew that Kiba could act like that… Neither could Tenten…" Shikamaru said.

Everyone looked at him. "Hey, you said that I couldn't say—well, what I usually say, but that doesn't mean I can't insult people." Shikamaru said.

Everyone rolled their eyes. "Well… what do you suggest we do?" Sasuke asked, trying to get rid of the disinterest in his voice.

Naruto shrugged, and looked around nervously. _'This feels… Nooo! Damn you Sasuke! Now I can't talk! __**Or**__ eat ramen! You've taken away two of the things that I love! I wish I could just scream at you now!'_

Silence fell among the group. "A-Ano… why don't we just watch a movie? T-That way… no one will have to talk…" Hinata said, fidgeting from the silence.

'_Thank you Hinata!'_ Tenten yelled in her mind. _'No more girly phrases that I need to think before I speak it out!'_

'_It's a good thing that no one picked me… Sometimes I forget how lucky I am,'_ Hinata thought, as she popped in a random movie. She looked around the room. _'Is this how it's going to be on the ski trip? I hope they figure something else out because they're starting to scare me…'_

* * *

_Edit—Saturday, May 15, 2010_

Now that I think about it, I really hate this chapter. I really do. Bear with me though; it gets better. Hopefully. Oh, I don't know—if it weren't for the readers, I would've dropped this story already, but the small light of it that shines at me stops me from deleting it (: I just hope the ending isn't so much of a fail.

Thanks for the reviews!

WhippedCoffee(:  
_starbucks is god._


	16. Dec 14 & 15, Thurs & Fri

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day __Twenty-Six__ & __Twenty-Seven_

**Chapter 16**—Midterms

_Day Twenty-Six_

"Hinata!" Tenten whispered. "I can't take this!"

"W-What do you mean?" Hinata asked. "And why are you whispering?"

The two of them were in Tenten's room, studying for their midterms the next day. Books were all over the table, and a few sheets of papers and worksheets were scattered around. Hinata sat on the opposite side of the table from Tenten. She was supposed to be helping Tenten with her chemistry, but in the end, she gave up with Tenten's lack of cooperation.

"Neji could hear me not sounding like… a girl!" Tenten whispered.

"O-Oh…" Hinata said. "W-Well, what can't you take? The studying or the bet?"

"Both!" Tenten said, putting her head and arms on the table. "I can't wait until midterms are over and we get to go on the ski trip…" She smiled to herself as she thought about the fun that she would have.

"B-But you'll still have to d-do well on the midterm…" Hinata commented after a thought.

Tenten groaned. "This is the worst…"

"It'll be o-okay Tenten…" Hinata said, trying to cheer her up.

"I can't believe I have my calculus and chemistry exams on the same day..." Tenten complained as she slumped forward to the table.

There was a knock on the door, interrupting what Hinata was about to say. Seeing as though Tenten had her head on the table, Hinata got up and opened the door. "Neji-niisan!" Hinata said, somewhat surprised.

Though, Hinata was only saying his name out loud to warn Tenten that he was there, so she would get into her act. Tenten suddenly jumped up, straightening her posture as she pushed back a stray lock of hair. Neji nodded to Hinata, taking a step into the room as Hinata stepped aside, letting him in.

"We were just studying for our midterms!" Tenten said with a huge smile, as if everything she said before to Hinata never happened.

"I can see that," Neji commented, eyeing the books.

"I-I'll leave you two alone to s-study," Hinata said, getting her books and getting ready to leave. She gave Tenten a little smile, before closing the door behind her.

Tenten groaned inwardly as the smile never left her face. Oh, why in the world did Hinata leave? That meant that she would be alone with the Hyuuga—something that she didn't want to be. Not that she didn't like Neji, oh no. It was the fact that she had to keep the on the charade of being a hyperactive girl that tired her to no ends. Tenten swore that Hinata was like the rest of them, and only wanted to see her suffer.

She whimpered a little when Neji sat down in Hinata's seat. He looked at the messy scrawls that he guessed was supposed to be math. "Need some help?" He offered as he folded his hands in front of him.

"From you? I would be honored," Tenten said with a sarcastic grin, but in a happy voice, nevertheless.

Neji half smiled, and smirked. "See if you can keep up."

When Neji wasn't looking Tenten scowled, glaring at him.

—

"But I don't get it!" Tenten said.

Neji sighed, trying to remain calm, and not let his anger take over. It had been—what, more than an hour already?—since Neji started tutoring Tenten.

"It's really simple," Neji said calmly, not letting his anger get the better of him.

Tenten also sighed, out of frustration. "If it's simple, then why don't I get it?"

Neji growled, glaring at Tenten. Tenten glared back. "With a brain like yours, of course you don't get it." His voice was calm, but Tenten knew better than that. She knew that he was restraining himself blowing up at her.

Tenten only growled out. "With someone like you teaching it, how _will _I get it?" She retorted back.

Neji looked like he was about to shout back, but he remained calm, glaring at Tenten. Tenten glared back, and soon, they were in a glaring match. 10 minutes passed, and neither one of them gave up.

'_He is so arrogant…'_ Tenten thought, continuing to glare at Neji.

'_The nerve…' _Neji thought, glaring back at Tenten.

Neji finally closed his eyes, sighing deeply. He would not strangle her. He would not strangle her. He repeated that line his head as he breathed out another sigh. When he opened his eyes, noticed that Tenten was smiling at him. His eyebrow curved upwards, wondering why she was _smiling _at the situation they were in. It was odd, even for Tenten.

She didn't know why she was smiling. Maybe the thought of him not bursting out in anger and leaving like he usually did made her smile. Maybe the thought of him actually taking the chance to calm himself down to teach her again made her smile. She didn't know, but before she knew it, her anger was gone it was replaced by a small smile. Seeing Neji stare at her like she had three heads made her smile wider—perhaps she was just crazy.

Without thinking, Neji was leaning into Tenten. Tenten's eyes widened, watching his movements silently. She soon followed his movements, leaning into Neji, but slower. They both closed their eyes as they were inches away from each other's face. Tenten waited for the moment where skin met skin, but instead, there came none. A sudden knock on the door snapped both of them out of their thoughts, causing them to pull back immediately.

Tenten's face carried a small blush as she stared a hole into her homework, whereas Neji seemed to maintain his composure, although there was an invisible trace of redness. The door opened slowly, as if the intruder was sorry for the fact that she was intruding.

"I h-hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said quietly.

Neither of them said anything, which she thought was rather strange. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts when she realized what she came up for. "You're needed downstairs, Neji-niisan."

Neji grunted as a sign of annoyance, but got up anyways. He passed Hinata quickly on the way out, without glancing back at Tenten. As soon as his footsteps echoed away, Tenten suddenly groaned, slamming her head onto the table, resulting in a loud _thud_. Hinata smiled softly as she guessed what had happened between the two.

And boy was she close.

* * *

_Day Twenty-Seven_

"Midterms are today! Who's ready?" Tenten's happy voice could be heard throughout the hallways of the school.

Kairi looked like she was about to say something, but stopped as soon as she locked eyes with Tenten, who was grinning and smirking at the same time. She hesitated on what she was going to say, silently groaning to herself. "I am! How about you Ino?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "It stinks."

"How about you Sasuke?" Tenten said in an overly hyper voice.

"I like the fact that today is the midterm, because it will give you guys something to worry about and stop talking so loudly." Sasuke said with a glare at Naruto.

Naruto tried very hard not to laugh at Sasuke, which caused him to put his hands over his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Tenten grinned at this sight, and Sasuke directed his glare at Tenten.

"How about you, Neji?" Tenten grinned again. "What do you think of the midterms today?"

Tenten waited for Neji's smile. He was having quite some problems—if he tried too hard, he ended up with a half smirk. If he didn't try at all, it ended up as a full smirk. When he finally got it right, it was a small smile, but Tenten could see it nevertheless. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by his fan-girls.

"NEJI-KUN!" One of them shouted. "You're smiling!"

Neji turned around just in time to see half the girls tear away from half the guys in the hallway, and started chasing Neji. He muttered a string of colorful words before running down the hallway. Tenten was laughing as Neji ran up the staircase, disappearing out of her sight. Sasuke smirked, Naruto and Ino was trying very hard to stop themselves from laughing. The corner of Kairi's lip was twitching as she tried to stop herself from making an unnecessary comment about Neji.

Oddly, Hinata, Shikamaru and Kiba weren't anywhere near the others. The bell rung and Tenten pushed herself off the wall. The others obediently went to their homerooms. This was it—her dreaded day finally came. Tenten let out a small breath as she entered her room.

Midterms begun.

—

"Where were you, Hinata? You missed out on like sooo much!" Tenten said, forcing herself to smile.

Hinata fought back the urge to giggle at Tenten's way of talking like a girly girl. If she laughed, she knew that would only make Tenten feel worse about the whole bet situation. Instead, she smiled back at Tenten. "I was helping Tsunade-sama w-with Shikamaru-kun on something."

"Like… the cooking contest?"

Hinata shook her head. "It's nothing that w-we should worry about yet." Tenten nodded her head and Hinata turned back around to face the board.

"Okay!" Kihu-sensei said, waiting for the class's attention. "Today is your midterms, and I hope you remembered to study!"

Half the class groaned, while the other half cheered. Some of them didn't even say anything, and waited for Kihu-sensei to continue. "Your midterm is three hours long, starting at 9. You will then have your calculus exam for an hour and a half, and then your chemistry exam. I trust that you all again, studied for these three exams and I wish you the best of luck," Kihu-sensei said.

Kihu started passing out the midterms, telling some of the students not to open them. Other students started whispering to each other, for last minute studying. Kihu, knowing that most of the students didn't study, sighed. "And I know you all didn't study, so if at least try to cheat in a smart way so I won't catch you guys."

It brought out a few laughs from the students, but others muttered quietly amongst themselves.

"Now… Begin!"

* * *

—**9:30 A.M: Naruto and Sasuke**—

'_How do you do this problem?' _Naruto thought, frustrated as he scratched his head with his pencil. He scrunched his eyebrows, and turned the paper around to see if he could solve the problem that way. That didn't work out so well, so he skipped over to the next problem.

Sasuke, who was sitting right next to him, saw that he was having some troubles. Sasuke tried to ignore Naruto's flipping and turning pages. He glared at his own paper to release his anger, since if he glared at Naruto, Kakashi will probably think that he was cheating. Sasuke was writing out an answer, when his pencil tip broke. He glared at the pencil, now angrier than he was before.

* * *

—**9:45 A.M: Neji**—

Neji was on the 20th question when he started being distracted. "The youth will prevail…" was a soft muttering beside him.

Neji was trying hard to concentrate and not be distracted by that sentence, which was repeated countless times. He succeeded, but then another distraction came.

There was an odd squeak in the aisles, even though no one was walking. Neji then realized that it was Gai who was walking up and down the aisles, his green jumpsuit squeaking each time he took a step. The other students weren't bothered by this at all, since they were either busy worrying about how they'll fail or what was the answer for the question that they were doing. Neji wasn't worried about that at all—however; he was worried about the slightest noise that would throw his off his pace.

Neji was about to raise his hand to tell Gai to stop walking up and down the aisles, but the squeaking suddenly stopped. Neji almost sighed out of relief when there was a sneeze in the classroom.

And then there was a cough.

* * *

—**10:00 A.M: Ino, Kairi, Shikamaru and Chouji**—

'_But if you do that you're going to get this… and if you do that, you get that… which isn't an answer in any of the choices…' _Kairi stared at her test paper in frustration. She was thinking of stabbing it with her pencil, but then she'll get in trouble if she did that.

She stared out the window, staring at the rain. There was a sudden smack on her desk, which made her jump a little.

"Don't look out the window—that isn't where the answers are," Asuma-sensei said sharply , as he continued to walk down the aisle. Kairi grumbled and looked back at her test paper, trying to find out what the answer was.

Ino smirked at what happened to Kairi, since she was sitting behind her. She looked back at her own paper, trying to figure out her own answer.

'_Okay… now how do you get the answer to this question…? I really should've gotten Shika-kun to tutor me when he offered! Now I'm going to fail… and spend the rest of my life as a sophomore!' _Ino started taking deep breaths, and closed her eyes.

Asuma was about to interrupt Ino's meditation session, but the moment he came to her desk, she was already working on her midterm.

Shikamaru wrote something down lazily and yawned. _'A few more questions and I can go back to sleep… This is just too easy…' _Shikamaru wrote another answer down, yawning again. _'Who says you need to eat a good breakfast before taking a test?'_

Chouji chewed on a piece of gum while he took his test. He wrote down an answer quickly, and looked over the next question. _'This is so easy! Piece of cake! … Now that I mention it… I could eat a chocolate one right now!'_

* * *

—**10:05 A.M: Kiba**—

'_How the…? How the heck am I suppose to know the answer to that?'_ Kiba thought, clearly outraged_. 'The practice test wasn't as hard as this!'_He gritted his teeth in anger as he felt outrageously ripped off from all the practice books he bought. _'That's it. The company's going to hear from me after this midterm.'_

He looked around the classroom, trying to figure out if anyone else was as outraged as he was. Apparently, everyone else was writing diligently, with no signs of surprise faces. He inwardly groaned.

"Keep your eyes on your own paper Inuzuka!" Kurenai barked, standing up from her seat.

Kiba looked down, back to his blank paper with scribbles. _'I really should've studied…'_

* * *

—**10:30 A.M: Tenten and Hinata**—

Tenten let out a deep breath as she moved on to question number 40. _'60 __more questions… no problem. And more than an hour left,'_ Tenten thought as she wrote down an answer.

Someone in the class sneezed, which startled Kihu a little. "If you need a tissue, ask for one. I don't want to be collecting… a wet midterm," Kihu-sensei said.

A few of the students snickered at her attempt to make a joke, but other than that, everyone else ignored her. Tenten started tapping her pencil on her desk, and was soon annoyed by the fact that she couldn't figure out the answer.

'_I knew spending that time studying with Neji was no use! All he did for the rest of the night—well… after that… incident—was ignore me and took the practice test by himself! Hinata should've never left me alone with him!'_ Tenten thought.

'_But… that's that, and I need to focus on the test… at least he taught me one thing that was useful,'_ Tenten thought dryly. _'Never be distracted by anything.'_

* * *

—**12:00 PM: Ino, Kairi, Shikamaru and Chouji**—

"Alright! Now, it's time for your calculus exam!" Asuma shouted, giving out the exam. "I expect no noise!"

Half the class groaned, some of them stretching from their seat. Kairi sighed and turned around to look at Ino. "How'd it go?" Ino asked Kairi.

"Bad. Very bad," Kairi said, sighing.

Ino grinned. "And you?" Kairi asked, raising a brow.

"Well… I guess you could say I did… pretty good," Ino said, grinning once again.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "You guessed?"

"Some of them," Ino said. "But overall, I think it was pretty good!"

Kairi nodded her head, rolling her eyes at the same time. _'Ah, who am I kidding!'_ Ino thought. _'I practically failed!'_

* * *

_Edit—Saturday, May 15, 2010_

I didn't change this chapter much. Partially because I'm lazy, and partially because there really wasn't anything to change.

WhippedCoffee(:  
_i want a green tea frap right about now. _


	17. Dec 15, Fri

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Twenty-Seven_

**Chapter 17**—Ski Trip

The rest of the school day was tragic. It all happened during lunch time, where everyone cracked. Sasuke won the bet with Naruto, seeing as though that Naruto couldn't stand not speaking or eating ramen. Plus, Sasuke taunted Naruto, trying to get him to speak, and leaving ramen behind on the tables. Sasuke was trying very hard to say more than 15 words in a sentence, and that caused an uproar in his fan club. They claimed that 'Sasuke-kun' had obviously 'seen the light'.

Whatever that meant, anyways.

Tenten lost the bet with Neji, who got frustrated from talking in a high pitch voice. She got back at Neji by making him smile in front of his fan club, which gave him a good ten mile run. Kairi lost the bet to Tenten, dreading the fact that she couldn't make sarcastic comments on people. Ino won the bet from Kairi, who was a pessimist all week, also wearing black to mix things up a little.

Ino lost her bet to Shikamaru, who, indeed, stopped saying 'how troublesome'. Kiba lost his bet to Kairi, who couldn't stand being perky all the time. He got so frustrated that he rammed himself into a wall! Hinata, who was the only one who didn't have a bet, was relieved when everything settled down.

The day came to an end, with midterms and exams all taken. It was after school, and the two week vacation began. All of them had two weeks off of school, due to the gym's renovation. Tenten and Hinata were at the gates, waiting for everyone else to arrive.

"How do you think you did?" Tenten asked Hinata.

"Fine," Hinata replied. "What about y-you?"

Tenten gave her a grin. "It could've been better," she said, "I never thought it would have been that hard though... I swear, those practice tests completely ruined it for me."

Hinata smiled and laughed a bit, before Tenten spoke again.

"Where is everybody?" Tenten asked, looking back at the school.

The school was vacant, and no one was in sight. Most of the students had left already. "Probably j-just caught up in class," Hinata replied, also looking out.

"Well, they better hurry up…" Tenten grumbled.

Just then, Kairi and Ino came running up to them. When they stopped, both of them were panting. "Where were you guys?" Tenten asked.

Ino tried to talk, but ended up coughing instead. Hinata patted her back, and tried to calm her down. "Well… we got caught up with Tsunade-sama in the hallway. Ino and I fell asleep in class, so we didn't hear the bell ring, and we ended up going out late… so we were running in the hallway, and then we almost crashed into Tsunade-sama… Seriously, that woman can **talk! **She went on for **40 **minutes on why it is dangerous to run in the hallway!" Kairi said, sighing.

Tenten was about to say something, but Naruto burst into action. "Hey! We're all here! Now can we go yet?" Naruto asked loudly, as the three other guys came up behind him.

"O-Okay then. We'll d-drop you off by your house, and then pick you guys up in t-three hours so you can pack," Hinata said.

Everyone nodded, and got into the limo that was along the curb for quite a while. "What took you guys so long anyways?" Ino asked the guys.

"Gai-sensei wanted us to run 15 laps in the gym for basketball practice. He says it's 'youthful' to build up the strength in your knees," Naruto said, as he made a face.

"Yeah… it was troublesome…"

"You slept through most of practice!" Naruto whined.

"Well, no one woke me up…"

"We did. You went back to sleep."

"Troublesome…"

* * *

—**Three Hours Later**—

"How long of a drive is it?" Tenten asked, as they all got settled in the limo.

"O-Only three hours. But it'll g-get windy up there, so y-you probably have to put on a jacket once w-we get there," Hinata said.

"So… what do we do for three hours?" Ino asked.

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather not do anything at all. I'm tired enough already from school, and I do _not_need another person yelling in my ear again," Kairi said, putting on her headphones.

"Someone's a little cranky." Ino sang.

Kairi glared at her. "You try waking up 2 in the morning because your idiotic brother had a nightmare!"

"Well, then it's a good thing that I don't have a brother!" Ino sang.

Kairi grumbled. "Ignore her, Kairi," Tenten said as she sighed, not wanting to deal with the arguments. "That's what I intend to do… Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to sleep." Kairi said, closing her eyes.

Ino rolled her eyes. "So what should we do?"

No one answered her. "Is this going to be a repeat of what happened on Sunday with the movies?" Ino asked.

Again, no one answered her. "You people are dead. I'm going to sleep too, seeing as though, _no one _wants to do anything," Ino said, putting on her headphones and closing her eyes.

Naruto stared at the two, pointedly ignoring them as he turned back to Hinata, chatting happily with her. She blushed predictably a couple of times, but other than that, it seemed like she was enjoying the animate conversation with Naruto. She nodded and giggled every so often when he cracked a joke at her.

"Neji, do you know how to ski?" Tenten asked.

"Yes."

"But Hinata said that you knew how snowboard."

"Does that mean that I cannot know how to ski? I just prefer snowboarding over skiing."

Tenten realized the logic in that. She laughed sheepishly at how idiotic she must've sounded before turning towards Sasuke. "What about you, Sasuke?"

"Snowboarding." Sasuke replied monotonously, with his eyes closed.

Tenten sighed. _'Do all prodigies snowboard?' _She looked at Neji, and then at Sasuke. She stared at both of them until they got annoyed.

"What do you want?" Sasuke snapped as he opened his eyes.

She sat in the middle of them, so she turned to Sasuke. "I'm bored."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Thanks for telling me that?"

Tenten also rolled her eyes. "Well… entertain me," she demanded.

He sighed as he took something out of his pocket. He shoved it into her hand, and closed his eyes again. Tenten looked at what she had, and grinned. She put on her headphones, and listened to some music.

* * *

—**Two Hours Later**—

Tenten opened her eyes, and rubbed them. She yawned, and looked around. Naruto was sleeping on Hinata's shoulder, while Hinata's head was kind of droopy. Ino and Kairi were both fast asleep, with their headphones still on, and the music blasting. Shikamaru was sitting next to Ino, who was dozing off quite peacefully. Neji and Sasuke both had their eyes closed, and as always, Tenten wasn't sure if they were awake or not.

She looked out the window, past Sasuke. The scenery changed from withering trees to snow capped bushes. She stared out the window for some time, and felt herself fidget in her seat. She turned to Neji quietly, trying not to disturb Sasuke's sleep.

"Neji!" Tenten whispered quietly.

Neji's eyes opened, and stared at Tenten. "What do you want?" He murmured.

"What time is it?"

He looked at his watch. "7 o'clock. Another hour till we get there." She cursed under her breath. She closed her eyes, and tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

"Tenten. Wake up. Tenten." A voice yelled, as someone grabbed her roughly and shook her.

Tenten cracked open an eye, and looked at the person who was shaking her. "What, Neji?"

"We're here. Get up. You're the only one who's still in the car. Everyone else is in the lobby." Neji said, as he got out.

Tenten yawned, and also got out, slamming the door as she did. "Where are my bags?"

"In the lobby," Neji said, as he walked across the snowy path. Tenten shivered from the cold, and ran to catch up with Neji.

* * *

"Okay, so here a-are your room keys. I put us r-right next to each other, so we w-wouldn't get lost," Hinata said, as she gave the guys a separate key. "It's four people p-per room, so I put the girls together and t-the guys together."

Shikamaru took the key, and walked to the stairs. "Since there are no elevators here, I'm guessing we're taking the stairs?"

Hinata nodded. "It's only t-two floors—"

"Hey! What are you guys doing here?" A familiar voice asked.

"Kiba? What are **you **doing here?" Kairi asked, surprised.

Kiba and Shino were standing in the back of them, as surprised as them. "Shino and I always come here for vacations." Kiba explained.

Kairi looked at him doubtfully, not trusting a word that he said. He only looked back innocently, as if he had done nothing wrong. "Okay, you stalker," Kairi stated as she passed him along the way. "I know you'll miss me for two weeks, but stalking me all the way here is kind of weird, not to mention creepy."

"You flatter yourself too much," Kiba said as he crossed his arms.

Kairi turned around staring at him. "So why are you following us to our room then?"

Kiba blinked, wondering what she was talking about. When he finally looked around, he gave her a sheepish grin. He hadn't noticed that he was following her when he was trying to explain what happened—of course, it only made it seem like he really did stalk her all the way to the ski resort.

"That's only because you were talking to me." Kiba said defensively.

"We can meet up later," Hinata suggested as she took out the card key to the room.

"With a stalker like him?" Kairi scrunched up her face, disliking the idea immensely. Tenten couldn't tell whether or not she was joking—and she was sure that Kiba couldn't tell either.

"I'm not a stalker!"

* * *

Ino nodded her head. "Nice room."

The floor was a glossy type of wood, along with the chair and table. A simple lamp decorated the table, as it was it meant for a self study area of some sort. In the middle of the room laid two beds that were separated by a small table in between. A digital clock was set on the wooden table, stating the time. There was a balcony to the left of the room, with large curtains covering them. Although Tenten didn't push aside the curtains, she knew that there was a magnificent sight that laid beyond it. To the side was a door connecting the room to the bathroom, and next to that was the closet set for clothes.

"Yeah, it's pretty cozy too!" Tenten chimed in, putting down her bag.

Hinata smiled. "We should get unpacking."

Kairi ignored Hinata, and threw herself onto the bed. She snuggled up to the pillows, and sighed. "This feels so nice," she said as she breathed in the fresh scent of detergent.

"Well, good for you!" Ino said, as she kicked Kairi's leg on the bed. "Now get your butt over here and do some unpacking. You've had enough sleep in the limo," she said as she walked over to her suitcase.

"Just… 5… minutes…" Kairi muttered from the pillow.

"For you, 5 minutes might be five hours!" Ino said, going over the Kairi, and pulling her legs. "Leave me to sleep in peace!" Kairi yelled, thrashing on the bed.

"D-Don't start another fight," Hinata said worriedly, as she took a step forward to break them apart. She worried for Kairi—thrashing like that on the bed would only result in unneeded injuries.

Tenten looked at them, and sighed. "When will you guys ever grow up…?"

—

The guys' room was the exact replica of the girls' room. Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled. "It smells so nice!" he comemnted as he climbed onto the bed, bouncing on it up and down. The grin never left his face as he continued bouncing up and down, which irritated Sasuke to no ends.

"The dumpster smells nice compared to a room like yours," Sasuke said irritably as he dropped the bags on the floor.

If it had been any other day, Naruto would've decked—or at least, tried to while Sasuke stepped to the side, causing him to get off balance and plummet to the floor—Sasuke, but today it was different. Today, he felt happy. Today he—well, in actuality, today he was having too much fun bouncing up and down on the bed. He ignored Sasuke as he continued his bouncing, only stopping afterwards when he spotted the balcony. He rushed towards it, flinging open the door, letting a gush of wind into the room.

"Uzumaki," Sasuke growled as he threw a glare at Naruto.

Naruto however, only ignored Sasuke.

Shikamaru paid no attention to the two as he threw himself onto the bed. He sighed in satisfaction as h stared at the ceiling. "If only my bed was this comfortable at home..."

"Then you'd never wake up," Naruto snickered under his breath as he closed the balcony door, satisfied with the fresh air.

Sasuke glared at the two who were unproductive. "Hurry up and unpack. We have to meet the others in less than an hour."

"It doesn't take us an hour to unpack!" Naruto yelled, getting down from the bed.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "With you? I'm sure it will take more than an hour."

Naruto was about to say something back, but Neji cut in. "Cut it out you two. I came here on vacation, and I do not need to hear the two of you fighting." Neji grunted. "Why couldn't Hinata-sama put me in a separate room…" He muttered to himself, as he unpacked his clothes.

* * *

—**9:00 PM**—

The ten of them sat around the fireplace, sipping hot chocolate. Starting from the left, Shino sat next to Kiba, who sat next to Kairi, who sat next to Ino, who sat next to Shikamaru, who sat next to Hinata, who sat next to Naruto, who sat next to Sasuke, who sat next to Tenten, and finally, who sat next to Neji. They all sat in a semi circle around the fireplace.

"I'm going to see if they have marshmallows." Ino said, as she got up.

"Why would you…? OH! I'll come with you!" Kairi said, as she scrambled to get up and follow Ino.

"What was that about?" Kiba asked.

Some of them shrugged, and some of them didn't say anything. Moments later, Ino and Kairi came back with bags of marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate and sticks.

"What are you guys trying to do?" Shikamaru asked.

"S'mores!" Kairi and Ino replied happily.

* * *

—**10:00 PM**—

"Wasn't that fun?" Kairi asked, patting her stomach as they walked towards to their room.

"Of course it was. And it was fascinating to see you scarf down twenty s'mores too," Tenten said as she grinned, remembering the way Kairi ate like there was no tomorrow. If the situation asked for it, Kairi was worse than Naruto when it came to inhaling food.

"Your mouth was the size of Mount Fuji," Ino commented as she thought back.

Kairi frowned at Ino's unwanted insult. "Hey, I was hungry!" Kairi yelled, trying to defend herself.

"I'm beginning to think that Naruto rubbed off of you somehow…" Tenten said jokingly.

Ino let out a laugh agreeing immediately with Tenten. "Hey, once you guys start eating like that, then we'll see who's the one that's going to be laughing," Kairi warned as she threw open the door to their room. "At least Hinata didn't laugh at me like you mean people," she muttered to herself.

"She was laughing on the inside," Tenten said as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Are you going to crash into bed now?"

Kairi shook her head. "I've had enough sleep for today! I can stay up all night if I wanted to!"

"Hasn't y-your sleeping pattern been a bit r-rocky, Kairi-chan?" Hinata asked as she got her pajamas to change into.

Kairi nodded. "You guys are lucky that you don't have idiotic brothers to wake you up in the middle of the night… and the stupid part is, he's running to **your **room and sleeping on the bed with you!"

Tenten stifled her laughter as she imagine Misaki doing something like that. It was all too weird—she couldn't really imagine his scream, his fast running, and especially him jumping into Kairi's bed at night. "He really does that?"

Kairi nodded. "See what kind of thing I have to put up with all the time?"

"What made him so scared, anyways?" Ino asked as Hinata walked to the bathroom to change.

Kairi rolled her eyes as she got out her pajamas. "I don't know. Some sort of… scary story thing that his friends told him when he was over at their house."

"I never knew that Misaki would get so scared because of a story!" Tenten said, snickering a little as she got her pajamas out.

"Yeah. The same way _you _got scared over when Hinata told us the fake story about that old woman," Ino said, grinning.

Kairi started to burst out laughing. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you, Kairi! I wasn't the one who was screaming like a maniac when I chased you all over!" Tenten yelled.

Hinata came out of the bathroom, and looked at the three girls. "A-Are you guys starting a-another fight?"

Tenten and Kairi just glared at each other while Ino sighed. She walked over to Hinata, with her clothes. "Good luck trying to get them out of it," she said as she walked to the bathroom.

Hinata sighed. "Kairi-chan, Tenten, w-why don't we get something to eat?" Hinata suggested.

And it seemed to work. "Oh yeah! I'll get hot chocolate again for all of us!" Kairi yelled, running out of the room.

"There's no telephone here?"

Hinata shook her head. "No. A-And there's no room service either…"

Tenten laughed. "But it did snap us out of it. Thanks Hinata." Tenten said, gathering her clothes and going into the bathroom as Ino came out of it.

"Where's Kairi?" Ino asked as she sat on the bed.

"She went to get more hot chocolate f-for us." Hinata said, as she sat on the other bed.

"So… what are we supposed to do now?" Ino asked.

"Chocolate is here!" Kairi announced as she nudged the door open with her food. Eight cups of chocolate rested on a metal tray, alone with a rather large jar with some cookies.

"Why do we need eight cups?" Ino asked, helping Kairi put down the tray.

"So we can give the guys some too!" Kairi shouted, as she took the other four cups and walked out of the room.

Hinata giggled as she took a cookie along with the cup of hot chocolate. She bit into it slowly, savoring the sweetness of the chocolate chips in it. Tenten exited the bathroom shortly afterwards, brightening up at the sight of chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate. "Kairi's back? Where is she?" She questioned when she noticed that the said girl wasn't in the room.

"She went to the guys to give them the other four cups." Ino replied as she took a cup for herself.

Tenten also took a cup and sipped it. "What are we suppose to do now? I mean… there's no television here or anything for us to do…"

"We c-can go to sleep?" Hinata suggested.

Right at that moment, Kairi walked into the room. "No! No sleep! I've slept enough, and I don't want to go to sleep that fast!" Kairi whined as she sat next to Ino on the bed. "Besides—we can talk can't we?" Kairi asked.

"What are we supposed to talk about," Tenten asked unsurely. She never had these 'talks'. She probably did, but the fact that Kairi stated 'talk' made it seem weird—Tenten herself didn't know what she herself meant, but she just knew that it felt awkward when it was stated out in the open.

"Oh you know… stuff…" Kairi said, with a twinkle in her eye. "Like how things are going with you and Neji…"

Tenten now knew why she felt awkward. No, that wasn't the right word to describe it—it was more like immediate embarrassment. Why did she have to keep bringing out that topic? Wasn't the time when she tried to match make them together enough for her? What did Kairi hope to gain by prying into Tenten's love life? Tenten frowned to herself as she thought of all the endless reasons in her head.

"Did we lose Tenten?" Ino muttered to Kairi, who only shrugged in return.

And then she blushed.

Kairi only grinned as she notice the faint blush on Tenten's cheeks, and was already ready to pounce on that. "Why are you blushing Tenten? Did something happen? What naughty thing have you been doing with Hinata's cousin?"

Tenten only blushed harder at Kairi's false accusations. The only reason that she had blushed was when the memory she had tried so hard to forget popped back up in her mind—it was the day when they were both studying together, when they almost had that... incident happen.

"Nothing happened." Tenten mumbled as she sipped her hot chocolate.

"So why are you blushing? Don't tell me that you're blushing just because you thought of Neji," Ino said. She grinned as she thought of something. "We can double date if you get together with Neji!"

"No!" Tenten said quickly.

"No?" Ino echoed as a frown settled on her face. She suddenly brightened up. "Of course, no. Don't worry Tenten, I understand," Tenten let out a smile when Ino finally got it, "You want a date alone with Neji. That's totally understandable." Tenten twitched. So Ino _didn't _get what she was talking about.

"I am not, will not, is not going on a date with Neji!"

"Now that just doesn't make sense," Ino said as she drank her hot chocolate.

"It's okay to be in denial," Kairi said dismissively as she waved her hand. "As long as you come out of it in the end though."

"I'm not in denial!"

"Okay Tenten, okay."

"Seriously."

"I said okay!"

"You don't believe me."

"False accusations won't get you anywhere, Tenten."

"And neither will false assumptions!"

"It is not an assumption. It is a known fact—see, even Ino is nodding."

"Ino nods at everything."

"No, see that right there? Ino is shaking her head right now."

"Ino can talk too—and Ino doesn't appreciate being talked about as if she isn't there."

"...Ino, why are you talking in third person?"

"...I don't know, it seemed like I'll mess up your conversation if I don't."

"Ino is an idiot."

"Ino thinks she's very smart."

"...Stop it Ino. You're starting to scare me."

"Fine! Let's get back to you and Neji; we were straying off the topic anyways."

"No," Tenten said forcefully. "Neji and I have no relationship like that. We're just friends, so whatever plan you're thinking of getting me together with him, you can just stop. It would only make things more awkward for us if you guys try to do anything."

Kairi's ears perked up. "_More _awkward? So why is it awkward now?"

Tenten cursed herself for letting herself slip up like that. "Whatever," she mumbled as she continued to drink her hot chocolate. Kairi decided to drop the subject, realizing how much of a bore it was to her now. It was always the same—denial, denial, denial. She couldn't even poke fun at Tenten without her denying every single thing. Sure, Kairi knew that everything Tenten said about them being 'friends' were lies (it was obvious that they had to be something more than that. After all—why would Neji waste time on a girl other than Hinata?).

Suddenly, a thought struck her mind.

"She called me a few weeks ago," Kairi said.

"Who?" Tenten asked, all too eager to get away from the subject of her and Neji.

"Sakura."

There was a moment of silence before Ino spoke up. "What did she say?"

"I remembered what she said from the first time she called me."

"So what did she say?"

"She said that she would be coming back soon."

* * *

_Edit—Saturday, May 15, 2010_

Didn't change much. Gah, I'm kind of dying here. Save me with your reviews:D Okay, that was corny.

WhippedCoffee(:  
_i want nobody, nobody but chu~ _


	18. Dec 16, Sat

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee_

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month One**  
_Day Twenty-Eight_

**Chapter 18**—Confusion

_Day Twenty-Eight_

Tenten opened her eyes, and yawned._ 'That was such a tiring night…' _She looked around her, not realizing where she was._ 'What the… Oh, right. I'm on the ski trip with Hinata.'_ She looked at the other girls, to find out that they were still asleep. She looked at Hinata, and got up quietly, trying to not wake her up. Tenten walked to the window, and lifted the curtain up for her to see the snow.

'_It's so pretty… I can't wait to start skiing!'_ Tenten gathered her clothes for the day, and walked to the bathroom to take a shower and do her morning routine.

Tenten stared at herself in the mirror. Her long, brown hair was let down, letting it cascade all the way down her back. Some of her hair was tangled together, and up in the air. She took her brush, and began combing her hair. _'What Kairi said about Sakura…'_ Tenten sighed.

She hadn't gotten enough sleep because of that.

—

"_She said that… she would be coming back soon." Kairi said, as she stared at their faces._

_None of them said a word. They didn't even know what to say, period. Ino bit her lip, as she looked at Hinata and Tenten to see which one of them would speak up first. She was nervous herself of how Tenten might react—and she knew that Kairi was nervous also._

_Tenten felt Ino looking at her, but she didn't look back at her. "Did… did she say… when?" Tenten asked, looking up at Kairi._

_Kairi shook her head. "She wasn't sure when, but she said that she would call me when she found out. She sounded really excited to come back…" She looked at Tenten._

"_Why didn't she call me?" Ino asked, feeling a bit insulted at their friend's actions._

"_I asked her if she called anyone else. She said that she lost all of her other friends phone numbers, and she only remembered mine. She's coming back… and she's staying." Kairi once again looked at Tenten._

_Tenten thought for a moment, but then smiled. "Well, at least I get to finally meet her, right?"_

"_You mean… you aren't sad? Or mad? O-or anything?" Hinata asked, looking at Tenten worriedly._

_Tenten shrugged. "Why should I be sad? Or mad? Or… anything? I mean, Sakura seems like a nice person… and when she comes back, she and Neji can be together again, right? Won't everyone be happy?" Tenten asked with a smile._

"_Tenten… I don't know if we told you this but… __**she **__broke up with him… I don't really think that they would get together…" Ino said._

_Tenten furrowed her eyebrows. "But… I thought that__** Neji **__broke up with Sakura… not the other way around," Tenten said._

"_That's what we all thought… but we had a sleepover before she left, and she clarified things up for us, and said that she broke up with him… That's about the only thing she ever told us about her break-up with Neji…" Kairi said, looking down at the bed sheets._

"_How did Neji take it then?" Tenten wanted to know._

"_P-Pretty hard," Hinata answered for the two. "Neji-niisan r-really didn't want anyone to know, b-but he stopped eating when Sakura-chan b-broke up with him, and when s-she left. H-His grades were normal, b-but at home, he was a wreck. H-he was colder than usual, and he b-barely spoke a word to anyone," Hinata said._

_Tenten started to feel bad. "When did things… become better?" Tenten asked._

"_Things… really d-didn't become better… They b-became worse… One time he w-wouldn't get up to go to school…" Hinata said._

"_Oh, was it the time where we had to take the exams…?" Ino asked._

_Hinata nodded. "F-Father was furious, but Neji-niisan shook it o-off like he didn't care… But when that happened m-more than once in a while, but he started to get used to it, s-so he stayed that way for quite a while…" Hinata said._

"_Until I came along, right?" Tenten asked._

_Hinata nodded. "Neji-niisan was f-furious when he found out that a total stranger was living under the s-same roof as him. Not t-to mention a few other Elders w-were furious too. A-And when he found you in h-his room…"_

"_He started to hate me… but… is he his old self now?" Tenten asked._

_Hinata nodded. "A bit. We all thought that if you got together with Neji-niisan, he would become his old self again."_

"_That's right; his old self. An arrogant, bratty, insulting prodigy," Kairi said, grinning._

_Tenten smiled at Kairi's choice of words. The other two laughed along with her. "Does he know that Sakura is gonna come back…?" Tenten asked._

"_He somehow… waited for her to come back during the past few months. I guess that he wanted to get back together with her badly… I don't know if he wants her to come back now that he has you…" Ino said._

_Tenten looked towards a wall. "I don't think that anything can happen when we know that Sakura is going to come back…"_

_"You make it sound like you want to be with him," Kairi snickered even though it was supposed to be a sad moment. "__There might be a slight chance that she doesn't come back!" Kairi said, trying to cheer things up._

"_Yeah. Right." Tenten said, rolling her eyes. "Well, now that we know, at least now we can be prepared for it, right?"_

—

Tenten came out of the bathroom, to find that they were all still asleep. She put her day's clothes on a chair, forgetting to change. _'Ah well. I'll do it later. No one else is up, right?' _She tiptoed out of the room, and walked past the guys room, staring at it a moment before she walked ahead. She went downstairs to find Sasuke looking out of the huge window in the lobby.

"Sasuke? What are you doing up?" Tenten asked.

"I could as you the same thing." Sasuke said, as he turned around. "Couldn't sleep with the dobe snoring. What are you doing up? It's only 5 in the morning. And what are you doing up… dressed like that…?" Sasuke asked, eyeing Tenten's clothes.

Tenten looked down, and blushed. She was wearing a black tank top with shorts. There was heat in the hotel, so there was no need for jackets. In fact, it felt rather hot to her. She looked back up. "I thought no one else was going to be up…"

Sasuke smirked.

"Besides. I couldn't sleep." Tenten said, as she sat on the couch.

Sasuke sighed as he turned back and kept looking at the window. The silence in the air was deafening, so Tenten decided to ask a question. "Sasuke… do you still like Sakura?" Tenten asked.

That seemed to have struck a nerve. "Why are you asking that?"

"Because… just because. Well, do you?"

Sasuke turned around to look at Tenten. He sat down on a couch opposite of her. "She's coming back, isn't she?"

Tenten froze. "Why-Why would you think that?"

He scoffed. "Please. We all knew that she was going to come back one day or another. It just ended up being 6 months later that she knew that she was going to come back."

"So… are you going to tell Neji that she's coming back?" Tenten asked, looking at the floor, avoiding Sasuke's gaze.

"You're worried aren't you?" Sasuke asked with a sigh.

Tenten didn't reply, and just kept staring at the floor.

"You're worried that after Sakura comes back, you won't continue living your fairy tale life anymore. When she comes back, Neji and everyone else will be hers again, right? Is that why you can't sleep? Because everything will change when she comes back?" Sasuke asked, staring at Tenten.

"You say it like you knew that was what's going to happen once she comes back…"

"There are some things in life that you just know what will happen. Face it, Tenten. You've been living in a dream long enough. It's time to wake up and face reality. Nothing's perfect like it seems. You're going to have to move out of the Hyuuga Manor, and move on with your life." Sasuke said, getting up.

"I didn't ask to live with the Hyuugas." Tenten said, looking up at Sasuke's back.

"But you did. It was just some sort of coincidence, isn't it? If you move out of the Hyuuga Manor faster, maybe you wouldn't have gotten so attached to them. And the people that you've just met. Don't you know that?" Sasuke turned around to look at Tenten. He found her staring at him. He walked closer to her, until he was hovering over her. "Isn't that the first rule of being an orphan? Never get attached to people that you meet? Because once you get attached to them, it's hard to let them go."

He stayed hovering over her, and she continued to stare up into his hypnotizing, onyx eyes. "Is that why you ended up pushing everyone away? Is that why you're so cold? So that you won't get attached to anyone?" Tenten asked.

"Why do you assume that?"

"Why don't **you **face reality, Sasuke? Not all people are bad. Why don't you give them a chance to know you? Maybe if you opened yourself up a little, then maybe you'll see how hard it is." Tenten said.

"You don't know anything about me," he said. "Don't you think that I've tried that? I did that before! And you know what I got in return?"

Tenten shook her head, but her eyes never left his face.

"_A broken arm. _That's what you get when you end up getting close to someone that you've just met." Sasuke said.

"What about Naruto? Isn't he your best friend? What happened to all the talk of, 'Not letting people get close to you'?"

"We're not talking about Naruto."

"Then who are we talking about?"

"You." Sasuke said, as he leaned in.

Tenten's eyes widened, as she felt him giving her a full kiss on her lips. They stayed that way for what seemed like minutes. _'Pull away… pull away! What the hell is going on? I thought Sasuke said that he liked __**Sakura**__!'_

"Uchiha," A voice hissed.

They broke apart, as the both of them looked at the owner of the voice. "Neji…" Tenten muttered.

"Hyuuga," Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes at him.

Neji glanced at Tenten, who looked as if she'd just see a ghost. He then walked away, with Sasuke following him. Tenten looked after the two, and groaned when they both disappeared out of her sight.

"What the hell just happened?" She cried with her eyes closed.

* * *

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" Neji hissed when they were on the balcony of their room.

It was chilly in the air, but neither one of them could care less. "Kissing her," Sasuke smirked. "Is that wrong?"

Neji grunted. "Of course it is!"

"Why?" Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. "You had your chance, Hyuuga. You could've gotten her whenever you wanted. But you were too hooked up on Sakura to even think about Tenten. Isn't that right?"

"It's none of your business about what happened between Sakura and me…" Neji hissed.

"Then don't you think that it's none of your business of what I do with Tenten?"

"Tenten is my friend—" Neji started, but Sasuke cut in. "And Sakura was mine!" Sasuke shouted. "If I remembered correctly, Sakura didn't want to be your friend, did she?" Neji asked, smirking himself.

Sasuke started to become irritated. "And who's fault do you think it is?"

"_You_were the one who was pushing it too far. Weren't you the one who was trying to kiss her when she was my girlfriend already!" Neji snarled, glaring at Sasuke.

Sasuke grunted as he narrowed his eyes. "I was drunk."

"And maybe that was the reason that she didn't want you to be her friend anymore."

"Say about what you want with Sakura. I don't care about her anymore. All I want now is Tenten." Sasuke said with a smirk.

Neji started to become angry. "Why can't you stay away from Tenten!"

"Why are you getting angry? Didn't you say that she was just your friend? Nothing more, right? Why are you getting angry over that? She can date whoever she wants." Sasuke said.

"We'll see who she wants to be with," Neji said.

"Are you actually admitting that you have feelings for her?" Sasuke asked, raising a brow.

"So what if I am? I'm not going to let a person like you have her." Neji said, glaring at him.

"I think it's her choice, isn't it?"

* * *

'_Why is this so confusing…'_ Tenten asked herself as she lay on the couch. _'Things were so much easier when I was just a passing orphan… Hey, maybe it's not too late to go back to the office and sign up for another home that might take me in…' _She suddenly brightened up, grinning like a fool. Her smile vanished as she thought it over. _'Who am I kidding…?'_

"Tenten? What are you doing d-down here?" Hinata asked.

Tenten looked up. "Hinata! It's so nice to see someone normal!"

Hinata looked at Tenten in confusion. "What time is it?" Tenten asked as she started to get up and walk towards Hinata.

"It's 7:00. Everyone e-else is still asleep, but when I woke up, y-you were out of bed, so I decided to see where you went… Why don't y-you get changed and we hit the slopes?" Hinata asked, as she got her skiing jacket on.

Tenten nodded. "I'll be quick!"

—

"Wait! What do you do again?" Tenten asked.

"Just… d-do what I'm going to do. Watch." Hinata said, as she started skiing.

Tenten watched Hinata ski. _'How confusing… Maybe I should try snowboarding… maybe it's less confusing…' _Hinata got back up to Tenten. "W-Why don't you try, and if anything happens, I-I'll help you."

Tenten nodded, and felt Hinata give her a light push off the slope. The wind in her hair, the pieces of snow that stuck onto her face—it somehow felt nice if she ignored the fact that she didn't know how to ski. The slope wasn't that steep, and she was grateful for the that Hinata chose the bunny slope for her. Although even with Hinata's help, she somehow managed to trip over her own two feet, proceeding to roll on the snowy ground, making a ball of snow out of herself.

"Ow…" Tenten said, as she rubbed her head.

"You should watch where you're skiing…" A voice said.

Tenten looked up, "Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but she couldn't see since he had sunglasses on. "Snowboarding? Why else am I here?"

Tenten could hear her heart beat faster as she looked at the Sasuke. _'How come I'm feeling this way now…? Is it because he kissed me? Why is he just so calm now?'_ Questions flooded her mind, making her confused and unable to speak.

Sasuke waited impatiently for her to say something. He saw Hinata on top of the snowy hill, and looked back to Tenten. "You should try snowboarding. It's much easier." Sasuke said, snapping Tenten out of her thoughts.

Tenten looked back at Sasuke, and blushed. "Okay…"

"Meet me back out here after dinner. I have something to tell you." Sasuke said, snowboarding away.

Tenten stared after him confused. _'Is it just me… or are things getting more confusing than usual?'_

* * *

Neji stared out from the balcony. He was freezing his butt off, but he didn't care. All he thought about was, was why he had said that to Sasuke. _'It really isn't his fault… is it?'_ He asked himself_. 'I was too busy trying to distract myself from Sakura… that I didn't notice that Tenten was there… Why would Uchiha want Tenten? I know that he still likes Sakura…'_

Neji closed his eyes as he crossed his arms. _'Things are more confusing than usual. Stupid Uchiha,' _Neji thought angrily as he opened his eyes. _'The nerve that he has. What makes him think that he will be able to get Tenten?'_

"Neji." Shikamaru said, as he joined him outside.

"Hn."

"Quit worrying about what happened." Shikamaru said.

"You heard?"

"You two were louder than Naruto's snoring. It's amazing that he didn't wake up with all that yelling." Shikamaru said, leaning on the railing.

Neji didn't say anything but stare out at the snowy mountains. "It's not like Sasuke's going to take Tenten away. He's just trying to make you feel how he felt when you took Sakura away from him." Shikamaru said.

"I didn't take Sakura away from him. Sakura was already fawning over him, but he didn't do anything about that." Neji said.

"The same way Tenten was fawning over you?" Shikamaru asked.

"Tenten was not fawning over me," Neji said, glaring at Shikamaru.

He sighed. "For you to not know when a girl is fawning, it too troublesome… you should know by now that girls have different ways of showing their affections to guys. Tenten doesn't show that she likes you, but instead she spends her time with you, in a friendly way."

"She spends time with everyone else too."

"But not like she does with you. Why can't you just accept the fact that she likes you, and not Sasuke, and that Sasuke doesn't like her either?" Shikamaru asked, as he walked back into the room.

"It's hard to love again when your heart is broken already…"

* * *

_Edit—Saturday, May 15, 2010_

I feel dead.

WhippedCoffee(:  
_i need coffee. Or sleep. More sleep, yes. _


	19. Dec 16, Sat Part II

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month One**  
_Day Twenty-Eight_

**Chapter Nineteen**—Questions

"That's… a long way down…" Ino said, looking down from a snowy mountain.

She shivered as a breeze past, carrying so snow with it. They had all just woken up, and decided to ski a bit before heading of to eat lunch. Kairi grinned at Ino. "Scared?" Kairi asked teasingly.

"Like you're not," Ino said, rolling her eyes.

"L-Let's not start another f-fight…" Hinata said, stepping between the two of them.

Kairi and Ino backed off each other, but not without glaring at each other first. "Where's Tenten?" Kairi asked Hinata. "I haven't seen her since… yesterday night."

"I t-think she went back to the lodge. S-She said something about b-being cold…" Hinata said.

"I wonder if I said too much to her about Sakura…" Kairi said.

"It's not your f-fault, Kairi-chan," Hinata said.

"Actually… it kinda is…" Ino piped up.

That earned a glare from Kairi. "Why don't you just shut your mouth!?"

"I'll shut it when you shut it!"

Hinata backed away slowly, and sighed. _'There's no way to calm them down…_' She sat on the snow, and watched them bicker back and fourth. Hinata knew she shouldn't be worrying about the two, since they were always up in each other's faces and arguing, but lately, they seemed to be doing it more often.

"It's your fault that we're all having a gloomy time here!" Ino yelled.

"My fault?! You're the one who kept pestering me to tell you what Sakura said on the phone!" Kairi shouted back.

"So now it's my fault?!"

"What do you think?!"

"I think that—"

"W-Why don't we go back? It's a-almost two!" Hinata jumped in, as she stepped in between them once again.

* * *

Kairi hummed a tune to herself as she skipped down the hallway. As some people exited their rooms, they gave her an odd look before carrying on with what they were doing. Kairi ignored those looks, and opened the door, to see Tenten stare out the window.

Kairi furrowed her brow as she took a step into the room, closing the door behind her. "Tenten, what's wrong? You seem down today," Kairi commented, as she placed her ski gloves on the dresser.

Tenten at first shrugged, hoping that Kairi might leave her alone. When she didn't hear the door open and close, she looked at Kairi. She started with a sigh, knowing that Kairi won't leave her till she spill. "Well… today I woke up at 5…"

Kairi raised a brow. "Why would you—?"

"Just listen." Tenten said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "And… Sasuke was down there. We had this talk, which confused me, and then… he kissed me." Tenten said, blushing as she looked down on the floor.

Kairi squealed. "I knew he liked you!"

Now Tenten rolled her eyes as she looked at Kairi. "And that confused me even more, because he doesn't like me!"

Kairi raised a brow as she sat down next to her on the bed. "Look Tenten. He kissed you; why wouldn't he like you? I mean, you don't go around kissing people you don't like…"

Tenten sighed. "Some people do, actually," she grumbled under her breath. Kairi didn't seem to catch that sentence, so she continued staring at Tenten. She sighed once again as she stared out the window.

"Well, we talked about how Sakura was gonna come back, and he told me that I was worried that that would change everything. That it would make my fairy tale life disappear. And that I should wake up and face reality. I'm really, really confused…" Tenten said. "But somehow… I just _know_ that he doesn't like me."

"Well…"

"And while we were kissing, Neji walked in!"

"Are you serious?" Kairi asked as her eyes sort of widened a bit.

"Yeah," Tenten said, nodding her head. She still didn't look at Kairi when she said that. "And Sasuke went with him to talk or something."

"Well…" Kairi started, and thought hard. "Maybe you're right… Maybe Sasuke doesn't like you…"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks!"

"Noo!!" Kairi waved her hands in front of her face. "Let me finish. Maybe… he was trying to get Neji back at what he did to him…" Kairi said slowly.

"So… what you're saying is that he used me?" Tenten asked.

"It seems that way… but Sasuke doesn't seem like the person to just use someone for their own needs… I think that he wanted Neji to realize that he likes you…? I really don't know. You'll have to ask Sasuke on this one." Kairi said, getting up.

"'Kay," Tenten said, nodding, "I'll see about that. He asked me to meet him down by the hill after dinner, so—"

"He asked you to do that?!"

Tenten nodded slowly, waiting for a burst. A few seconds past and there was none. "…Aren't you going to scream in my ear or something?"

Kairi took a deep breath and shook her head. "I can control myself." She started to walk out, but turned around. "And hurry up. Lunch is being served."

"Maybe she can control herself," Tenten said. She started to walk out, but heard a squeal. _'Then again, she can't.'_

—

The walk to the lounge was silent, though Tenten could hear Kairi humming a tune. Tenten raised a brow at Kairi's actions, wondering what made her so happy. She was half skipping, and half walking next to Tenten. It wasn't like her... not like her at all. But before Tenten could ask, they had already arrived to the lounge.

"Where are the guys?" Kairi asked when she and Tenten were at the lounge.

Ino shrugged. "Shikamaru told me that they were going someplace else."

Kairi looked at Tenten. "Can I tell them?"

Tenten sighed and shrugged. "Why not?"

Kairi walked over to Ino and Hinata, and whispered to them. As soon as Kairi pulled back with a satisfied grin, Ino shrieked. "OH MY GOD!" Ino cried with joy.

"Oh my god…" Tenten repeated under her breath. She knew something like this would happen.

"Tenten! How come you didn't tell us this before?!" Ino demanded.

"Did h-he really kiss you?" Hinata asked. Hinata looked at Tenten worriedly. _'This is not good… and Neji-niisan found out! That's why he locked himself in his room…' _Hinata thought.

"I didn't know how to tell you guys, and yes, he did. Stupid, isn't it?" Tenten asked, crashing onto a couch as she picked up a sandwich on the coffee table.

Kairi grinned, sitting in next to Ino, also picking up a sandwich. Tenten could tell that this was amusing her. "It's not stupid, it's GREAT!" Ino yelled.

"Would you guys stop looking at me like that!? It's getting annoying, and Neji won't even talk to me!" Tenten whined.

Ino stopped yelling, and started thinking to herself. After a few minutes of pondering, she started. "Maybe… he was jealous?" Ino suggested.

"See, I'm not the only one who thinks that Sasuke's trying to make Neji jealous!" Kairi yelled, slapping a high five with Ino.

"Oh right, yell it out to the whole world to hear…" Tenten grumbled.

"Y-You should really talk this o-out with Neji-niisan… and S-Sasuke-san too." Hinata said, biting into her sandwich.

"I've tried to talk to Neji! But once he gets mad, he doesn't listen to anyone! This is worse than the beginning when I snuck into his room…" Tenten said, taking a huge bite into her sandwich.

"Aw, c'mon! Cheer up! At least you can still talk to Sasuke! You're going to meet him down by the hill, aren't you?" Kairi asked.

"Y-You're what?!" Hinata yelled, shocked.

Ino and Kairi stopped their grinning, turning to stare at Hinata. It was a shock for them, really. They had never heard her shout before. Hinata suddenly realized that she had shouted, which was unlike her timid personality. She started going red, and she stood up.

"I-I mean… I-I didn't… I-I have to go!" Hinata shouted, walking quickly out of the room, with her face beet red.

The other three stared at her in somewhat amazement and somewhat amusement. The amusement part, as you would have guessed, came from Kairi. Tenten was staring with her brow raised, as if she wasn't sure Hinata had just walked out on them without an explanation.

"…Whatever." Ino said, breaking the silence and shrugging it off. "You're gonna go?" She asked Tenten.

Tenten stiffened, wondering a bit. Then she nodded. "Yeah. I have questions, and he has the answers to them."

Kairi sniffed. "My little Tenten is growing up!!"

Ino sniffed too. "I know!! Isn't this great??"

Tenten looked at them weirdly before polishing off the rest of her sandwich. "Glad to know some things don't change…"

* * *

Hinata walked quickly out of the lounge, partially embarrassed by the fact that she had shouted something. It was much of a big deal for her though. It more of the fact that she was eager to tell Neji what had happened.

"Neji-niisan! Open up this door right now!!" Hinata shouted, not as loud as she did before.

Nothing happened at first. Hinata waited a couple of minutes, just to see if the door would open. She banged on the door once again. The door cracked open a bit. "What do you want, Hinata-sama?" Neji's voice asked coldly.

Hinata pushed the door open, and made her way in. No one else was in the room, and the curtains from the balcony were fluttering from the wind.

"I have something to tell you…" Hinata said, looking at Neji.

"If it's about Uchiha and—"

"She's going to meet him down by the hill after dinner," Hinata said quickly, not even stuttering on a word.

"…What did you say?" Neji asked.

"He probably asked her to come down there… and tell her something. Neji-niisan, what really happened?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Nothing happened."

"I know that you saw Sasuke-san and Tenten kissing in the-"

"Shut up will you?!"

Hinata quickly didn't say a word. She was a bit shocked that Neji would yell at her that way, but feeling the wrath of Neji was the worse. She'd seen it happen to other people, but not to herself that often.

"Are you gonna go too?" Hinata asked, hoping that he would.

She was worried about him. She knew that even though he didn't act nice near Tenten, she knew that in some way, he had developed some kind of feelings towards her. And this was the first time that Neji had ever felt about a girl again, especially since Sakura had broken up with him without an explanation. Hinata couldn't take it again, if he started acting like how he did when Sakura broke up with him.

Neji didn't say anything but opened the door for her. "Thank you for the information, Hinata-sama."

This time, Hinata grew angry. "Why can't you see that Tenten really likes you!?"

Neji was taken back by Hinata's outburst. "What are you talking about?" He asked quietly.

"Tenten… she really likes you… can't you see that you're hurting her by not talking to her?" Hinata asked quietly.

"I just need some time to think by myself." Neji said, walking over to the balcony, leaving the door open for Hinata.

"That's what you said when Sakura-chan left you… and that time turned into months…" Hinata said, ignoring the open door and taking a step towards Neji.

"I just… don't need to deal with that now." Neji said quietly.

"You're going to have to deal with it sometime… and the sooner the better, right?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know. I really don't know what's going on… First Sakura leaves me, and then Tenten comes in. I just… Why can't things go back to the way they were?!" Neji shouted furiously.

"If things were the way they were before… you wouldn't have met Tenten, right?"

"I… don't know. Hinata-sama, I'm sorry, but… can you just leave me alone?" Neji asked.

Hinata was about to protest, but then decided against it. _'He needs time to think,' _she told herself. She nodded, even though Neji couldn't see her, and turned around, shutting the door behind her.

Neji looked out the balcony, and saw Sasuke and Naruto out on the slopes. _'Uchiha… why did you do what you did?'_

* * *

"Hinata! Where'd you go?" Ino asked, as she caught up with her in the hallway.

"I told Neji-niisan w-where Tenten was going after dinner." Hinata said, as she opened the door to their room.

"What!? Why would you do that?!" Ino shouted.

"I think that Tenten, Sasuke-san and Neji-niisan s-should work things out between them. They can't go on in t-this confusion." Hinata said, as she took out a camera.

"Well… I guess you're right." Ino said, sighing. "Again. Anyways, what's with the camera?"

Hinata smiled. "You'll s-see."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "You know, I liked it better when you were shyer."

Hinata giggled. "But m-meeting you made me t-this way!"

Ino gasped sarcastically. "How dare you!"

* * *

"Sasuke?" Tenten asked, as she pulled her jacket tighter against her body.

'_This is freezing!! That bastard better be here!'_ Tenten thought, irritated. It was after dinner, and Sasuke had already disappeared when Tenten came down, changed to meet him. There was no snow storm, but the air was icy.

"Here," Sasuke said. He sounded distant.

"Where are you?"

"Follow the sound of my voice."

Tenten frowned. She followed his voice, and walked to him. He was sitting on a snow covered log, in front of a frozen pond. Snow capped bushes and snow covered trees surrounded the frozen pond, making it almost impossible to figure out that there was a pond here. He didn't need to turn around to see that it was Tenten who was there. "Glad you could make it."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap Uchiha. What is it that you want to ask me?"

Tenten didn't need to look at Sasuke to see that he was smirking at her. As Tenten waited for his answer, she sighed, seeing her own breath in the air. Minutes probably have passed, with him not answering her. She suddenly became impatient, glaring at Sasuke's back.

"Well?!" She asked.

"Well what?" Sasuke asked, turning around to look at her.

She could feel herself slowly grow annoyed. Sasuke was one to make someone pissed, and enjoy it at that. "Just. Ask. Your. Question," she said through her gritted teeth, shivering through the cold.

"Fine," he said, turning back around to the pond.

"What's going on with you and the Hyuuga?"

* * *

_Edit—Sunday, February 17, 2008_

_Reviewers :D_

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Lalala. PleASE reVIew! (Excuse my horrible singing. I'm tone deaf…)


	20. Dec 16 & 17, Sat & Sun

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month One**  
_Day Twenty-Eight & Twenty-Nine_

**Chapter Twenty**—Interruptions

"Huh?"

Tenten stared at Sasuke, dumbfounded. _'He told me to come here all the way out for this?'_ Tenten looked at Sasuke rather… confusingly. She had thought that it would be something more important. Something much more… Well, something not like _this_, at least. _'And since when did Sasuke have any interest in my love life? Or in __anyone's__ life?'_

Sasuke looked irritated, to be even asking the question, which was odd, since he _was _the one who asked that. "I don't like repeating things," was all he asked.

Well. That seemed stupid, at least, to Tenten. She looked at him weirdly before thinking things through. _'Sasuke asks me a weird question that he would've never ask anyone in his entire life. Is someone making him do this?'_

"Is Naruto or someone making you ask me this?" Whatever it is, Tenten just couldn't believe that Sasuke would have this much interest.

Sasuke sighed irritably. "That doesn't matter. Just answer that question."

'_I know something is up,'_ Tenten raised a brow at Sasuke, having him growl, being very frustrated with Tenten. "So you make me come out here and ask me a question that you would never ask anyone in your whole life… why does that make me suspicious?" Tenten asked.

"Because you think of me as someone without emotions," he answered, with some bitterness in his voice, as if he was hurt by that thought.

…Which we all know isn't true. Tenten laughed nervously. "But really, what's with the question?"

"Just answer it," he said again.

"I won't answer that," she said, looking out onto the frozen pond as she sat on the snowy log beside Sasuke.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Sasuke spoke up again. "You like him, don't you?"

Tenten didn't say anything, but she kept staring out to the pond. "I'll tell you if you tell me why you're asking this," she said with a silly grin.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her. "Curiosity?"

Tenten grinned as she eyed the moon's reflection on the clear ice. Sasuke looked briefly at Tenten before also staring out at the frozen pond. "You really do like him."

"You didn't have to put it so bluntly," Tenten said hotly, sitting up straight.

"The truth is blunt," Sasuke said with a sigh. "Why?"

"I don't know…" Tenten muttered. "You can't have control over who you like… it's just something that happens… instantly… or something like that."

"Or 'fate' as Hyuuga would say," Sasuke said dryly.

"Is the Uchiha making _jokes_ now?" Tenten grinned at Sasuke.

Sasuke glared at her, making her laugh a bit before she turned back to the pond. "It's just hard to not fall for him I guess…"

Sasuke scoffed. "Why would _anyone _like Hyuuga?"

"And why would _anyone_ like Sakura?" Tenten glared at Sasuke.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Tenten, but she ignored him and continued. "It's just that it's so confusing sometimes. He's great to be around… but he's just so… _stiff_.It's like he's a… cardboard, for god's sake! I just don't know what to do…"

"Do what you think you want to do," he said simply.

"It isn't as easy as it sounds…" Tenten grumbled. "How come you never did that with Sakura?"

Sasuke stiffen a little bit, before going back to being relaxed. "She was dating the Hyuuga, remember?"

"Yeah but…"

"And I told you before, I don't like her anymore. It's just a stupid crush that will go away, and it did."

"But it didn't," Tenten insisted.

"Why don't you just tell the Hyuuga?" He seemed a bit frustrated with the Sakura talk, so Tenten decided to let it slide.

Tenten laughed. "The same reason you didn't tell Sakura." That earned a glare from Sasuke. _'So much for letting it slide…'_ Tenten thought as she gave him a sheepish grin.

"That was different. She was with Hyuuga."

"But he's still recovering from it, isn't he?"

"How long has it been? 5, 6 months?"

"You never really know when you really get over it…" Tenten said softly.

"Hn."

Tenten let out a frustrated sigh. "Part of me wants to tell him. Part of me just doesn't want to. I just don't want to get hurt again."

"When have you ever gotten hurt?"

"A long time ago. I just… don't want to feel the pain of loosing someone again."

Sasuke didn't answer her. "It takes time, doesn't it?"

Tenten didn't say anything. "There's no rush."

Tenten nodded her head. She got up, and looked at him. She grinned, as she clasped her hands behind her back. "Thanks Sasuke." Sasuke nodded, not meeting Tenten's gaze. Tenten grinned again. "You know, you should show this side to people more often."

Sasuke glared at Tenten. "What happened here does not leave this place. If you tell anyone—"

"Got it," Tenten said, grinning. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone what I just saw." Tenten said, as she started to walk back to the lodge. "You should come back too. It's getting cold."

"You go ahead. I'll catch up later."

Tenten turned around and nodded to Sasuke, and resumed walking. Sasuke watched as Tenten disappeared from his sight. Sasuke looked up at the moon in the sky. It was shining brightly, and Sasuke noticed something else. It was a full moon. "2 more months…"

* * *

"Hey—" Tenten stopped as she looked around the room. "Where are the others?"

Hinata looked up from her book that she was reading. She was tempted to get out of the bed, throwing off the covers and putting her book down, but Tenten gestured her for her to stay in bed. "Kairi-chan's eating downstairs and Ino-chan's in the s-shower. How'd it g-go with Sasuke?"

Tenten hesitated before speaking, wondering if she should tell Hinata or not. She took this the wrong way, widening her eyes as she said, "D-Did he ask you to be his—?"

Tenten laughed, shaking her head. "No, he didn't ask me that, to my pleasure," Tenten said, grinning as she pulled out a chair and sat on it. "Actually, he asked me about my relationship with Neji."

"Why would he…?"

"That confuses me too." Tenten asked with a sigh. "I mean, who knew that Sasuke would be interested in a subject like that?" She stifled her laughter as she thought back to when he asked her the question.

"Did you t-talk to Neji-niisan?" Hinata asked with interest.

Tenten shook her head. "Not yet. I'll talk to him if I run into him, but I'm in no hurry!"

* * *

"Kairi!" Tenten shouted as she walked into the restaurant part of the lodge.

She spotted Kairi eating dinner with Kiba. Kairi didn't seem to notice that Tenten was calling her name, since she was laughing at something Kiba said. Tenten grinned, now figuring out why Kairi was so happy in the afternoon. She yelled once again, "Kairi!"

Kairi turned around, blushing when she saw Tenten. She said something to Kiba, and waved at Tenten to come over. "Having fun?" Tenten asked Kairi when she got to her.

Kairi glared at Tenten. "This doesn't seem what it looks like!" Kairi whispered to Tenten. She looked at Kiba. "Excuse us for a second." Kiba nodded with a grin, and greeted Tenten. She dragged her to the other side of the restaurant.

"Really? Cuz it kinda looks like you're out on a date with Kiba!" Tenten half whispered and half shouted. "Is that why you were so happy in the afternoon…?" She smirked at Kairi, who started blushing.

"N-No!" Kairi said, after she stopped blushing. "He just said something about lunch…" Kairi mumbled, not wanting Tenten to get any ideas. "But never mind that. How was the meeting with Sasuke?" She asked, hoping to switch the subject around before Tenten could fry her even more about Kiba.

That seemed to work, since Tenten started talking. "He asked me about my relationship with Neji," Tenten said, rolling her eyes.

"Since when was he interested in your life?" Kairi asked, raising a brow at Tenten. She suddenly gasped. "Maybe he asked that because he wanted to know if you were singl—!"

"Do you really think that?"

Kairi shrugged. "It's worth a shot…"

"Well—"

"I bet he was dared to ask that question…" Kairi nodded to herself. "Yeah, maybe it's that! Because we all know that he would _never_ do that, even if he was paid—"

"Would you just—?!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh," Kairi grumbled, running her hand through her hair. "Now, was that all you wanted to tell me?" Kairi asked, eyeing Tenten.

"…Not really…"

"Then spill!" Kairi said excitedly.

Tenten grinned. "No. Seems like you're on a date! See ya!" She then walked out.

Kairi looked after her flabbergasted. Kairi grumbled, "She is _so_ lucky that she has something to spill…"

* * *

Tenten grinned to herself as she walked to her room, back to Hinata. She'd wanted to tell her what had happened with Kairi. Hinata just seemed a bit… tense today. Tenten wanted Hinata to have a good laugh, because she was looking tense to her. But, on her way to her room, she collided with Neji.

They stood in the middle of the hallway. Tenten was looking around awkwardly, and Neji didn't say anything. It was an awkward moment for what had happened with them earlier on. Tenten decided to speak up first, since she was planning on talking to him, and it was better now than later.

"Neji… look, I'm sorry that you walked in when Sasuke and I were kissing… It was totally unintentional!"

"You don't have to explain. Uchiha did already."

"Really?" Tenten asked, curiosity taking control of her. "When did he tell you that?"

"When I found him downstairs," Neji said.

Tenten raised a brow. "He didn't tell you anything else… right?"

Before Neji had a chance to answer, Ino interrupted the conversation. "Tenten!! Neji!! You **have **to come here quick!" Ino shouted as her head poked out of the boys' room.

"What happened?" Tenten asked as she and Neji walked to the room.

"Look for yourself." Ino opened the door far enough for them to see what happened.

"Oh… my god…" Tenten said when she had seen what Ino had meant.

Naruto's left foot was in bandages, and Shikamaru's left arm was in a cast. Naruto's left face had a big bandage on it, but he didn't seem to look like he was feeling anything, since he was grinning when Tenten and Neji walked into the room. Shikamaru looked the complete opposite of Naruto, grumbling a bit. They were both lying on different beds, with Hinata sitting in a chair next to Naruto.

"What happened to you guys…?" Tenten asked, eyeing the two on the bed.

"They got into… a little accident." Ino said as she took her place back next to Shikamaru.

"How little?" Neji asked.

"Big little." Ino replied automatically.

"Heheh… You see… we were… well… I was snowboarding with Shikamaru and we kinda… hit a tree…" Naruto said sheepishly.

Tenten looked at Naruto with disbelief. "You went snowboarding at night?!"

"Hey, there's no harm in that, right?" Naruto asked.

"Obviously you were wrong." Neji said dryly.

"Look, Neji. Normally I wouldn't have gone along with Naruto on his stupid conquests, but you should go through an hour of 'Please Shikamaru?' And tried being followed everywhere too! Even the bathroom!" Shikamaru said, frustrated.

"Naruto—" Tenten started.

"I know what you're thinking, but I was bored!! Sasuke and Neji were out, and you girls had to do your things, and no one was going to play with me!" Naruto whined.

"You're in high school!" Ino yelled. "Who plays with each other anymore?!"

"But it was so boring!!" Naruto whined.

Tenten slapped herself on the forehead as she sat down in a chair. Neji stood beside her, leaning on the wall and crossing his arms. "Look… at least you two are alright, right?" Tenten asked.

"We're pretty much wiped out for the basketball season… but other than that I guess we're okay…" Shikamaru replied.

"Basketball…? I haven't thought of that!! NOOOOO!!" Naruto cried. He glared at Shikamaru. "Why didn't you stop me?!"

"Oh, so now you think it's a bad idea!" Ino shouted.

"N-Naruto-kun, please calm down and t-take a rest." Hinata said.

Naruto grumbled, but settled down. Tenten grinned a bit at Naruto's obedience to Hinata. "Well, I'm gonna go take a shower. Feel better guys." Tenten said as she walked out of the room.

As she was walking to her room, she saw Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked at her, waiting for her to say something. "Good luck sleeping on the floor tonight!" Tenten said, as she closed the door behind her.

Sasuke stared after her questioningly. "What is she talking about…?"

* * *

"Aw man!" Tenten shouted at herself once she was in the shower.

'_Goddamnit! Sasuke was in the hallway! I could've asked if he told Neji anything that happened when we were at that place!! I missed my chance!... Aw man!'_ Tenten screamed in her head as she banged her head against the bathroom wall.

"I am such an idiot!!"

* * *

"Well, get better guys," Ino said, walking out the door, with Hinata following her.

They exited the guy's room, just in time for Sasuke to raise a brow at Naruto and Shikamaru. "Is this one of your stupid attempts to go riding at night?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly before saying, "It didn't seem stupid when I thought of it…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Of course."

Naruto glared at Sasuke, emitting a, "HEY!"

Sasuke seemed to have ignored Naruto, and looked at Neji, hesitating a bit before nodding to him, in his way of greeting. Neji hesitated too, before nodding. He walked out the door, as if he had just remembered to do something. As soon as the door closed, Naruto stopped glaring, and grinned at Sasuke.

"So, did you ask her?" Naruto asked giddily.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Why do you even bother?"

Naruto ignored Shikamaru, and Sasuke answered. "I did."

"Well, what did she say?" He asked excitedly.

"Naruto, you are like one of the troublesome girls…" Shikamaru said. "What guy gets excited when there's gossip?"

Naruto once again ignored Shikamaru. "What did she say?" He repeated.

Shikamaru sighed, guessing that it would be better off if he hadn't said anything in the first place. It was very much like Naruto to be like that. Of course, it came no surprise to him, that he had asked Sasuke to ask Tenten what was their relationship. And why would Sasuke do such a thing, you would ask?

"That," Sasuke said, smirking at him, "is none of your business."

Naruto looked astounded. "What?! I told you to ask her!"

"You told me to ask her," he repeated what Naruto had said. "You just never told me that I had to tell you an answer."

Naruto gaped at Sasuke while he had the same smirk on his face. Shikamaru sighed at their immature actions. "That's not fair!"

"Dobe," Sasuke said as he opened the door to the bathroom. "This is what you get for blackmailing me." And with a smirk, he closed the bathroom door.

* * *

—**The Next Day**—

"Okay, want to try this a-again?" Hinata asked Tenten.

Tenten grinned and nodded as she got into her position. Hinata smiled as she at Tenten's determination. She had felt a bit better knowing that Tenten had talked to Neji yesterday, and that Sasuke didn't interfere with anything.

"Sure. I'm sure I'll nail it this time!" Tenten said optimistically.

"Aren't we being optimistic…?" Kairi muttered under her breath.

Kairi stood beside Hinata, and Ino stood to the other side of Tenten. Ino and Hinata giggled at Kairi's words, but Tenten glared at Kairi, turning around to see her. "Did you say something?" Tenten snapped.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Kairi grinned, denying everything she had just said.

Tenten rolled her eyes as she turned back around, and looked down. "I'm not gonna get hurt… right?"

"Only if you know how to stop," Ino piped up. "If you don't—it's _splat_! You smush into a wall, or crash into a tree like Naruto and Shikamaru," and that made Kairi crack up, leaving her to support on Hinata when she started having little fits of laughter.

Hinata giggled again, only to have Tenten roll her eyes again at Ino's choice of words. "Oh boy…" Tenten said.

"C'mon Tenten. I-It's really not that hard." Hinata said encouragingly.

"Easy for you to say… Okay, I'm gonna—"

Kairi grinned as she stepped forward, pushing her. It was a hard push, too, which made Tenten start sliding down the hill. Kairi started laughing, watching Tenten waving her arms up and down to stop it. Ino started snickering, and Hinata gaped at Kairi.

"W-Why'd you do that?!" Hinata asked, shocked.

"Hey, she needed a little _push_!" Kairi said, laughing as she held her stomach.

"Yeah, and when she smushes into that wall over there, she's gonna need ice." Ino said, nodding her head, grinning.

"What wall?!" Kairi stopped laughing and looked alarmed as she looked around for a wall.

"That one. The one where she's gonna—OUCH! That must've hurt…" Ino said, cringing as Tenten 'smushed' into the wall.

"…She's gonna kill me, isn't she?" Kairi asked.

"Only if she can walk. And by the looks of it, it seems that she can't even get up from the wall…" Ino said.

"S-Shouldn't we help her?" Hinata asked, as she skied down.

"Great idea!" Ino yelled, as she followed Hinata's actions and skied down the hill.

"Hold up!" Kairi shouted.

* * *

Tenten shivered in the blanket that was wrapped around her. She took the hot chocolate from Hinata's hands and sipped them. She glared at Kairi. "Why d-did you push m-me off the s-slope?!" Tenten yelled through her chattering teeth.

"Hey, you needed a push," Kairi said unsurely, taking a step back just to be sure that Tenten didn't reach out and hit her.

"Yeah! A push to smash me into the wall!"

"Actually it's smushed…" Ino said quietly.

That received a glare from Tenten. "That's what you're gonna be if you don't stop talking."

Ino frowned and kept her mouth shut. Hinata saw Neji come towards them. "U-Uhm, why don't we g-go back to the slopes?" Hinata suggested as she walked towards the door.

Ino and Kairi shrugged, and followed Hinata out the door. Neji turned to Tenten, raising a brow at her. Tenten grinned sheepishly.

"What happened to you?" Neji said.

"I got smushed into a wall." Tenten said.

"Smushed…?"

"Ino's words."

"That explains it." Neji said.

Tenten grinned at Neji's attempt at humor. She was about to say something, but Naruto interrupted her before she could even open her mouth. "NEJI!!!!! I NEED YOUR HELP!!" Naruto yelled, all the way from the second floor.

Tenten winced at the loudness of his voice. "Man he can yell loud…"

Neji glared at the stairs, as if imagining that it was Naruto, but got up to the stairs nevertheless. She heard Naruto shout something about, "I NEED HELP GETTING TO THE BATHROOM!" That had got Tenten laughing, imagining the picture of Neji helping Naruto get to the bathroom, and maybe even help him use it.

"Obviously Naruto has the _worst_ timing…" A voice very much like Kairi's grumbled.

The voice was behind a plant, and Tenten was sure that it was Kairi. After all, plants can't talk, can they? "Why are you guys spying on me?!" Tenten asked loudly.

"We're not spying!" Ino yelled, jumping up from behind the plant, defending herself. "We're just… trying to find our gloves!"

Tenten raised a brow. "Behind a plant?"

"You never know where gloves might be!" Kairi yelled, jumping up and also defending herself like Ino.

Tenten sighed. "Whatever. Where's Hinata?"

"Oh, we ditched her," Kairi said with a goofy smile.

"You WHAT?!"

* * *

_Edit—Sunday, February 17, 2008_

_Let's do this again! x)_

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Reviews are my anti-drug x)


	21. Dec 17, Sun

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month One**  
_Day Twenty-Nine_

**Chapter Twenty-One**—Preparations

"Gosh it feels nice to be home!!" Tenten shouted, as she jumped into her bed.

Hinata giggled. "You didn't l-like the trip?"

Tenten looked up at Hinata. "Like the trip? Oh, the trip was fine. It was just the bruises from skiing that I don't like!"

"OH, suck it up Tenten! Getting smushed into the wall wasn't that bad!" Ino said, sitting in Tenten's chair.

"Can you **please **stop saying that word?" Kairi yelled.

"What word? Smushed?" Ino asked cluelessly.

"Give it up Kairi. She's never gonna stop using that word," Tenten said, getting up from her bed.

"Chyea! Anyways, I'm going to go home to unpack and take a shower. Remember—tomorrow's the fair!" Ino yelled, slamming the door shut behind her.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Okay… Well, I'm gonna go too. My mom would probably be waiting by the door, trying to get me to tell her how _wonderful_ our trip was. See you guys later!" Kairi said, as she opened the door to go out.

Tenten grinned after Kairi shut the door. Tenten started to go out the door, looking back at Hinata. "Wanna come with me to wash some of the clothes that we have?" Tenten asked.

She nodded, and walked beside Tenten with her bag.

—

"Does your family do anything special for Christmas?" Tenten asked Hinata, as she put her dirty clothes into a bucket.

"N-Normally we would've gone to the s-ski lodge, but sometimes we g-go to different places to stay." Hinata replied, as she did the same things with her stuff.

"Are you going anywhere this year?" Tenten asked.

"I think w-we are, but I'm not s-sure where." Hinata answered, taking the bucket, and putting the clothes into the washing machine, one by one.

"So just after the fair, you and your family will probably be headed off to vacation?" Tenten asked, doing the same thing as Hinata.

Hinata nodded, and started up the machine. "Will you be alright alone?"

Tenten nodded. "I'll probably will. Your father trusts me enough to be alone in here?"

"Well… t-there will be other people in the building, so y-you won't be all alone in here." Hinata said. "O-Oh, and I think that Ino-chan said something about having a party on New Year's Eve, so I don't think that I'll be going on the vacation. Neji-niisan e-either."

"Really?" Tenten asked. "You can do that?"

Hinata nodded. "Then… you're saying that we have the whole house to ourselves?" Tenten asked with excitement. "I mean—ourselves in like, no other Hyuuga in the house?"

Hinata nodded again. "Hinata… are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Tenten asked with a mysterious glint in her eye.

Hinata looked at Tenten awkwardly. "What… are you thinking?"

"Party!"

* * *

"Great! Two parties in one week, that's just the best!" Ino shouted.

Ino grinned as she stirred her cappuccino, taking a sip before continuing. The four of them met up in a café where Kiba and Shino worked. "So, want us to spread the word about the party, or will you do that?" Ino asked.

"Spread the word? What do you mean?" Tenten asked, confused.

"Oh, right! You still don't know what Ino famous is for!" Kairi shouted. "She's famous for throwing the **best** parties!"

Ino grinned, waving her hands around like she had just won a prize. "Thank you, thank you, I know. You should've seen the party I threw last year. A Halloween party. It was so huge!"

Hinata agreed, nodding her head. "I-It was the biggest party of the year."

"Wow. Seems fun. So what have you got in store for this year?" Tenten asked.

"You'll see." Ino said, with a strange twinkle in her eye.

"She only throws one party a year. That's why they're so huge," Kairi said, rolling her eyes. "I just think that she likes to make people wait for her parties. Then she can be," Kairi made air quotes in the air, "'popular'."

"Is it my fault that I take a year to think of what to do at a party? I mean, you don't just throw a party, and then think of what you're going to do at it!" Ino said, rolling her eyes, waving Kairi's idea off.

Hinata's eyes widened, sipping her drink a bit before looking up at Tenten. Tenten stifled a giggle. "Well… that's what we did!"

Ino glanced at both of them suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"We decided we were going to have a Christmas party because Hinata's family was going on vacation for the week." Tenten explained, shrugging as if it was no big deal.

"That goes against everything you say!" Kairi said, pointing at Ino.

"Would you shut up?" Ino snapped. "We can make this work. I mean, I can help you with it." Ino said calmly.

"Hey! How come when I asked you to help me with my party, you turned me down?!" Kairi whined.

"Hush up Kairi! Besides—your party turned out great without my help!" Ino said, "Anyways, we can put together a great party by the time it comes!"

"It's in t-two days…" Hinata said.

That made Ino stopped talking for a moment. "Well… then we better get to work! I can **not** have my reputation as the greatest party thrower be ruined!"

* * *

"Why are we at the mall?" Tenten groaned, looking around the mall with distaste.

Kairi patted Tenten on the back, as a pity gesture. Hinata grinned a bit at Tenten's expression. Ino sighed at Tenten's attitude. "Not a mall, Tenten! A supermarket!" Ino corrected.

"…and why is that supermarket **in** the mall?" Tenten asked.

Kairi and Hinata started to snicker at Tenten's question. Ino rolled her eyes. "Just come on! It's not like it's going to get you infected with a disease!"

—

"This cart is mostly filled with junk food." Tenten complained as she rolled the cart into an aisle. "Aren't you suppose to get some healthy food too?"

Ino rolled her eyes once again. "What kind of party has… _healthy food_?" Ino asked, saying the word cautiously as if it was some kind of disease. "Besides, no one eats health food at a party," Ino snorted, picking up something form the shelf.

Kairi nodded in agreement as she and Hinata came up with sodas in their arms. "It's true. You should listen to Ino on this, Tenten."

Ino grinned at Kairi, also grinning at Tenten. "You should hear what happened once at Kairi's other parties. Her mom put out health food, and someone actually threw up from eating it!" Ino burst out laughing.

Tenten raised a brow at Kairi. "…Who gets sick from eating something… _healthy_?"

Kairi sighed, running a hand threw her hair. "Turns out my mom used some ingredient that the kid was allergic to."

"No one eats health food anymore," Ino said, a grin still pasted on her face. "At least… no one eats it in Kairi's house," Ino snickered a bit before putting something else in the cart.

"The kid made it, that's what counts," Kairi said with a sigh. "And it's not like he charged us with anything—"

"You're forgetting one thing," Ino interrupted.

"He s-said that if you went out with him, h-he'll drop the charges, didn't h-he?" Hinata asked, finishing up for Ino.

Kairi blushed, shrugging. "I have no idea what you two are talking about. So, Tenten, is this enough, or do we need more?"

Tenten looked at the cart. "Are you serious? It's like we bought the whole store!"

"Believe me—when the guys see these food, they act like animals," Kairi said.

"S-She's right," Hinata said, nodding in agreement.

Tenten sighed as she scratched the back of her head. "How many people **are** going to be at the party?" Tenten asked Ino. "Oh, just a few people from school. Don't worry about it Tenten! The party is under my care!" Ino said with a grin.

"I thought you said that you only throw one party a year," Tenten said dryly.

"This time I'm making an exception!" Ino said.

"Oh god…" Tenten muttered under her breath.

* * *

"Now that we have all the food, we need to figure out what are the people are going to do at the party," Ino stated, taking out a clipboard. "Any suggestions?"

The three girls stared at Ino with disinterest. Tenten raised a brow, propping her chin up with her hand, and her elbow on the table. Kairi stared blankly at Ino, chewing on a piece of gum she bought at the supermarket. Hinata chewed on her gum she got from Kairi, but didn't chew as loud as Kairi did.

"Well?" Ino asked impatiently.

"Maybe if we don't talk, she'll go away," Kairi whispered to Tenten and Hinata.

"I heard that, and no, I'm not going to go away!" Ino shouted.

Kairi cursed under her breath. "Well… I have to go home now! Have fun planning the party without me!" Kairi yelled, making a run for the door.

Ino grabbed the back of the collar of her green polo shirt, and pulled her back into the kitchen, with Kairi protesting and struggling to get out of Ino's grasp. "You are going to stay here until we have some fun ideas for the party!"

"Why can't we just use the ones that you have for your New Years Eve party?" Kairi whined.

"Because! Those are my ideas that I thought of, and I'm not just going to give it away!" Ino yelled as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.

"But you did say that this party was going to be under your care!" Tenten piped up.

"Yes, I did say that, but then if I use the ideas for this party, then there will be no ideas for my other party! Do you get it now?!" Ino yelled.

The three of them nodded their head slowly. Ino smiled. "Good. Now, let's get some ideas!" She barked.

* * *

"Oh my god…" Tenten muttered as she threw herself on the bed.

Kairi did the same thing and threw herself on the couch in Tenten's room. Hinata yawned as she pulled out the chair from Tenten's desk, putting her head on the desk. Ino looked at the sight and shook her head.

"C'mon guys! The day didn't end!" Ino shouted.

"But apparently our lives did! We're friggin tired Ino!" Tenten shouted from her pillow.

"Yeah! You're going overboard with this party!" Kairi shouted with her eyes closed.

"Well, someone has to do the things around here to make it a good party!" Ino yelled back.

"But can't we rest?! We've been walking for hours to get the food and decorations!" Kairi yelled.

"Why couldn't the guys come…?" Tenten asked sleepily.

"Because!! Then it wouldn't be a surprise! This party is what we're planning together! We don't need any help!" Ino shouted. "Guys?"

No one replied her. Ino sighed. "Are you asleep, or just pretending to be so I'll go away?"

Again, no one answered her. Ino rolled her eyes. "Fine. Take your rest, and by the time you wake up, the place is going to be ready for the party."

As soon as Ino walked out the door, Kairi jumped up from the couch. Tenten jumped up from the bed. She took something out from under the pillow and took a bite. "Mhmmmm…" Tenten said, as she chewed on the chips.

"I hate these kind of chips, but right now, they seem like the best kind in the world!" Kairi said. "Is Hinata awake?"

Tenten looked over at Hinata, who was quietly sleeping with her head on the desk. "It would explain why she wasn't talking when we were talking with Ino. Oh well. Let her sleep. When she wakes up, she can have some of it." Tenten said.

Kairi nodded her head as she took more chips. "Ino was so mean to not give us any food to eat!"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "And just because we didn't come up with any ideas."

* * *

"Okay, the fair is at 6:00, and we need to get ready! Fast!" Ino shouted as she barged into the room.

The three in the room had fallen back to sleep at 3:15. Ino shook them all up, and some of them were a _bit_ cranky. "What now?!" Kairi snapped.

Ino quickly backed off. A sleepy Kairi is a cranky Kairi. "We need to get ready for the fair?" Ino asked.

Tenten yawned, sitting up slowly from the bed. Hinata rubbed her eye, picking up her head from the desk. Ino sighed at the state of her friends. "We don't have much time to get ready!!" Ino shouted, causing Kairi to cover her ears.

"Man you can scream…" Kairi muttered as she stood up from the couch.

Tenten got up from her bed, and Hinata stood up from the chair. Ino looked at them happily, and marched into Hinata's bedroom.

—

Dressing up in a simple long-sleeved white shirt, with a black coat over her, Tenten walked along Neji. She looked over Neji's outfit. Simple black sweater, baggy black jeans.

'_Isn't he cold?'_ Tenten scrunching her brow. "Nice outfit, Neji," Tenten said with a grin.

Neji looked at Tenten and raised a brow. "Could say the same to you."

"I didn't really think of dressing anyway special. I mean, it's only a festival, right?" Tenten asked.

Neji nodded. Tenten rolled her eyes. This was the basic conversation that they had. First he would answer the questions that she asks, and then after the first few questions, he would ignore her. _'Wonder why everyone thinks that we like each other,'_ Tenten thought as she sighed.

As they arrived at the fair, it was already getting dark. The lights from the fair light up most of the place, and the children's screams of joy made it comfortable.

"Hey guys! You actually came!"

* * *

_Edit—Sunday, February 17, 2008_

_Reviewers(:_

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**Edit:** -sigh- I didn't really change anything, except for a few add-ins here and there(:

Review Please x)


	22. Dec 17, Sun Part II

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month One**  
_Day Twenty-Nine_

**Chapter Twenty-Two**—Two Months

All of them turned around to see a guy with make up and a hoody on. There was a red head beside him, shorter, and had an emotionless expression on his face. No doubt about it—it was Kankuro, with his younger brother Gaara.

'_Funny how that look reminds me of Neji and Sasuke,'_ Tenten thought as she inwardly snickered.

"Kankuro? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"It's the fair—almost everyone's here. I'm surprised the Sasuke and Neji are here." Kankuro said, grinning.

"Hn." Neji said.

Sasuke just ignored him, glaring a bit. Kankuro grinned at this, before turning his attention to the group. "So, did you guys just arrive?" Kankuro asked.

While the others just shrug and mutter something incoherent, Hinata was the only one to answer him. "Y-Yeah," Hinata said, nodding her head.

"Well, come to my booth!" Kankuro said, leading them into the bright lights.

They followed him, having nothing else to do. Besides, they had come to the fair to look around, didn't they? Sasuke and Neji didn't seem to care where Kankuro was leading them. Heck, if he led them to a cliff, they could care less. Ino was walking alongside with Hinata and Tenten, while Kairi was hanging towards the back of the group. Shikamaru and Naruto were walking together, with Naruto talking, not caring if Shikamaru was even listening.

"Are you sure that that guy is safe?" Tenten whispered to Ino.

Ino shrugged. "He must be. Temari is our friend now, right?" Ino asked.

"Well yeah… and he does seem harmless…" Tenten said.

"Right. So, don't give it a second thought!" Ino said.

"Besides," Ino started, looking at Tenten with a grin, "knowing Kankuro, the booth he picked out must be fun."

Tenten looked at Ino questioningly. "What do you mean?"

Ino still had the silly grin on her face. "You'll see."

—

"Tenten, close your mouth!" Ino said, laughing at Tenten.

Due to shock, and total disbelief, Tenten had been at that position for what seems like an hour. "Are you serious?! He picked a _kissing booth_?!"

"Don't act so surprise!" Ino said, still laughing. "I did sort of warn you what kind of booth he was going to pick out, didn't I?"

"No! You didn't! But who would be lining up to kiss—"

Tenten stopped talking as she saw a line begin to form in front of the kissing booth. "You have got to be kidding me!" Tenten said, almost screaming it out to the whole fair. Tenten had found it hard to believe that some girls had even lined up to **kiss** a guy like Kankuro! Not that she didn't think he was attractive or anything but—

"Tenten," Ino started, "face it. He seems to be more popular with the girls than you think. Behind all that make up must be a really nice guy."

Tenten scoffed. "Wow… I never that I'd hear you say that in my life."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, now you did. Let's go check out the other booths!"

"Don't we have to tell them that we're going to leave?" Tenten asked, looking over to the others.

"Whatever. We have cell phones, don't we? They'll call if they don't know where we are. And anyways, it's a fair! We're suppose to spread out and have some fun," Ino said, waving her hands around, gesturing to the bright booths. She grinned at Tenten before she stated dragging her to the other booths.

Tenten was about to protest when Ino rolled her eyes and grabbed Tenten away. "Okay, so what do you want to check out first?" Ino asked as she dragged Tenten from booth to booth.

Tenten sighed, knowing that Ino wouldn't listen to her. "Does it really matter? Why don't we just go around the place and look?"

"Good idea!"

As they walked to what seems like another kissing booth, they saw something oddly familiar. "Kankuro?! Aren't you suppose to be in your own kissing booth?!" Ino asked.

He waved it off. "I did my turn. Someone took the next shift," Kankuro explained, turning back to the girl he was talking to.

'_Well,' _Tenten thought sarcastically, _'maybe that was why the line was so line when we were there,' _she thought with a small grin. _'It was because someone else was there all along!'_

"So, wanna go out on a date?" Kankuro asked the girl.

Ino and Tenten stayed in their spots. "This should be good," Ino whispered to Tenten.

The girl had blonde hair, much like Ino's. Except that her hair was longer, and it was sort of dirty blonde. She had glassy dark green eyes. The girl smiled. "Sure! How about November thirty-first?"

Kankuro smirked, feeling a bit victorious. "Sure. See you then."

The girl also smiled, but her smile wasn't exactly what Tenten would call… happy. It was more of an amusing smile, the one you have when someone is doing something stupid. But either way, Kankuro didn't notice anything, and she left as another girl took her place on the seat.

Kankuro turned around to Ino and Tenten, with the same grin on his face. He raised a brow when he that they were bursting out into laughter. He stared at them weirdly. "What?"

"Dude!" Tenten yelled, her laughter subsiding. "November just passed!"

He sort of stood there, with his mouth dropping open. He closed it quickly, standing silent for a second, but scoffed. "Maybe she meant next year!"

Tenten burst out laughing again, and Ino took over. "But there is no 31st in November, Sherlock!"

They both started laughing again. Kankuro started blushing, but rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said, as he started walking back to his booth.

"Maybe it's just with all the make-up!" Ino shouted to him.

"It's Kabuki paint!" He shouted back.

That made them burst out into laughter again.

* * *

Back at the kissing booth, the rest of the group was wondering where Ino and Tenten had wondered off to. Kairi was a bit peeved that they had left without saying anything, but decided to not do anything drastic like calling them up and demanding where they were. The rest of the group just didn't care.

"Where do you think that they went?" Kairi asked the rest of the group once again.

"They just p-probably just w-wanted to see the rest of the fair," Hinata said, trying to calm Kairi down.

"Without us?!" Kairi asked annoyed.

"Why don't we just split up?" Shikamaru asked. "It'll be less troublesome…"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Yeah! Let's split up! I get Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted, holding up Hinata's hand.

Hinata started blushing, and tried to keep herself from fainting like she used to. Neji suddenly had a dark aura around him, but Naruto didn't notice.

"You get her and you die," Neji said darkly.

Naruto laughed nervously as he dropped Hinata's hand and backed away slowly. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at this and sighed. "Neji, why don't you just go with them to wherever they're going?"

Everyone agreed to go somewhere, and that left Shikamaru, Sasuke and Kairi. "Well, I'm gonna go find a place where I can watch the sky," Shikamaru announced, leaving the two alone.

"So…" Kairi started.

"Don't even think of starting a conversation," Sasuke said, as he strode off, leaving Kairi all by herself.

Kairi cursed under her breath as she followed Sasuke to wherever he's going.

* * *

"I'm thirsty. I'm going to get a soda. Do you want anything?" Ino asked.

"Get me what you're getting," Tenten replied as Ino walked off.

Tenten sat on a chair, and looked around the place. _'This place is really crowded…'_ In the corner of her eye, she could see Kankuro coming up from behind her. "What?" Tenten asked.

"I need a favor from you," Kankuro said. "I need you to take over the booth I'm in while I go to the bathroom!"

Tenten raised a brow. "Can't you hold it?"

Kankuro shook his head. "My other booth is near the girl's kissing booth. Good luck!"

And with that he ran off. Just then, Ino came back with the drinks. "Was that Kankuro who was running like a girl before?"

Tenten laughed. "Yeah. C'mon—I need to help him with his booth."

* * *

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "This… is his booth that I'm suppose to be taking over?"

"Well… it sure is… cool?" Ino said warily.

The booth turned out to be something that Tenten didn't plan it to be. It was a dunking booth. The water was looking icy cold, especially in December. The water shifted from the wind, making a quiet _slosh_ sound. Tenten walked up to the booth, looking around. She spotted a guy handing out balls, and she walked over there. As she got closer, she could see that it was a red-head. _'Gaara?'_

"Gaara?" Tenten called out, and the red head turned to her.

It was definitely Gaara who was handing out the balls. Tenten jogged over to Gaara. "Hey, Gaara… What am I suppose to do?"

Gaara nodded his head towards the booth. "Sit up there."

Tenten raised her brow. "…And get wet?" Gaara nodded as the costumers dispatched.

"Well… you wanna sit up there instead? And I'll hand out the balls?" Tenten asked hopefully.

Gaara didn't say anything, and that meant no. Tenten sighed, and walked back to the dunking booth, climbing in and sitting down. _'I just hope that no one hits the target…' _Tenten thought grimly, as she looked to her side to see the target button.

—

'_It's been what?! __**Over an hour**__?! And Kankuro still hasn't come back from the bathroom! How long does it take him?!?' _Tenten thought, outraged. _'I'm pretty sure that it doesn't take this long to do your business,' _Tenten thought, annoyed.

Though it's been over an hour, she still didn't get dunked yet. All the people that lined up had terrible throwing skills, and for that Tenten was ecstatic. But… who knows if luck lasts that long, eh?

"Well… I'd like to give it a try…" A familiar voice said, stepping up.

Instantly Tenten knew who that was. "Kankuro! Get your ass back up here!!"

* * *

They had lost Neji through the thousands of people at the fair. Sure, Neji would be pretty pissed that they had ran away from him, but right now, Naruto was as happy as ever without a dark figure looming over them like Neji did. Hinata knew that she was going to be in trouble if she saw Neji again, but she decided that she'd try to explain things to Neji.

"So, Hinata-chan!! Wanna get some ramen??" Naruto asked as he happily bounced beside her.

"S-Sure, Naruto-kun," Hinata said as she blushed when Naruto took her hand, zooming off to the Ramen stand.

As soon as they got there, Naruto plopped down in a seat, leaving Hinata sit in the seat next to him. As they finished their orders, Naruto grinned at Hinata, making her blush. "Ne, Hinata-chan, why are you so red?" Naruto asked, looking at Hinata closely with a concerned face. "You're not sick are you!?"

Hinata was taken back by his sudden loud question and the closeness of their face. But all she could do was grow even redder. She didn't even pay attention to the question—she was concentrating on not screwing this up and fainting.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked again.

"I-I'm fine," Hinata said, turning away from his face, looking straight.

She started to feel her blood drain from her face, relieved that the pressure of Naruto being so close had wore off. She saw from the corner of her eye that Naruto shrug it off, grinning beside her as they got their ramen.

"This is good Hinata-chan! Why aren't you eating?" Naruto asked, as he started eating—or slurping—his ramen.

Hinata snapped out of her thoughts, as if she was in a trance. She noticed steam was coming from under her chin. She looked down, and saw that her ramen was ready. She started eating, while Naruto grinned at her.

"This is really good!" Naruto said happily.

"Isn't it a-always good?" Hinata stammered, trying to make her moment with Naruto last.

"Well," Naruto thought for a second as he chewed on his ramen, "it is, but it seems so much better to eat with you Hinata-chan! We should come here more often," with that, he added another grin.

Hinata could feel her blood rise up to her face, but tried to resist herself from blushing. "A-Ah, Naruto-kun, I-I—"

"Ne, Hinata-chan," Naruto said, cutting into what she was saying, "why do you always stutter?"

That took Hinata by surprise. She never thought that he would ask this question—in all her years of being his friend. She never knew that it bothered him, seeing as though he never thought to ask. She suddenly got worried.

'_What if he tells me that… that he doesn't want to be my friend anymore because of my stuttering?'_ Hinata thought, as she blushed even more.

"A-Ah," she said softly at first, looking down at her ramen to avoid eye contact with Naruto. "I-I don't know why… I guess it just k-kind of caught onto my personality… D-Does it bother you?" She looked up with sad eyes.

Naruto was a bit taken back by how sad she looked. In all his years of being her friend, he never seen Hinata so sad. "No!!" He quickly said. "I was just asking! I just wanted to hear how you sound without stuttering! That's all! It doesn't bother me!!" He said, adding the last part in quickly.

When Hinata smiled a bit, Naruto grinned. They continued eating their ramen in a comfortable silence, with the crowd at the fair being noisier than ever. _'I guess… I'll try to not stutter that much,'_ Hinata thought, as she watched Naruto eat happily. He noticed her staring, and he grinned. Hinata smiled back. _'But… if only I had the guts to tell him that I like him…'_

* * *

"I think I'll take a shot first, before getting up," Kankuro said with a sly grin.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tenten wailed, swinging her feet out of annoyance, making the water ripple.

"I think I'm taking a shot," Kankuro stated knowingly.

"Not what I meant you asshole," she said, glaring at Kankuro. "Get the hell up here! It's been over an hour, and I do **not** want to get wet!"

"Well," Kankuro said as he smirked. "That's your problem." Gaara threw him a ball, and Kankuro caught it. That made Tenten glare at Gaara, but his face remained emotionless. Though, Tenten knew in a way that he was enjoying this.

With a flick of his wrist, he threw the ball, hitting bulls-eye on the target. Before Tenten could even realize he did this, she went down in the booth. Icy cold water started filling up her lungs as she came back to the surface to spit out the water.

"Kankuro you asshole!"

Kankuro smirked, taking another ball from his younger brother. "That'll teach you to say anything to me when I get asked out."

Tenten stayed in the water, glaring at Kankuro. "All this just because we pointed out there's no thirty-first in November?!"

"Get up," Kankuro said, grinning, wiggling his brows. "The fun's not over yet."

—

Coming out of the pool, dripping wet, with your hair soggy is not a thing to do at a fair. Plus, add people staring at you, pointing and laughing too. Tenten glared at Kankuro before stomping off.

As soon as she came to a place without lights and people, she immediately collapsed to the grassy ground. She sighed deeply, closing her eyes and letting the fresh air calm her down. She then opened her eyes, taking off her hair pins and ribbon.

She let down her wet hair, making it drip all around her. She squeezed out all the water, making the ground slightly wet. Satisfied with her semi-wet hair, she started putting it back in its bun. She felt someone crept up behind her. With her reflexes she drew a fist, wanting to punch the person who sneaked up behind her.

The person caught her hand before muttering, "Tenten."

Tenten sighed a breath of relief when she saw who it was. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

* * *

"So Sasuke," Kairi said as they walked through the endless crowd of people.

More like… Kairi followed Sasuke. When he walked off, ignoring Kairi before, Kairi had just followed him out of boredom. It bothered Sasuke a bit, that a girl was following him. Sure, he had countless encounters with him fan girls following him, but this one won't leave him alone, nevertheless that she actually tried to make conversation, which annoyed the hell out of him.

"Leave me alone," he said, through his gritted teeth.

Kairi grinned at his action. Pissing off Sasuke was one of the best things she could do. "No can do Sasuke! Not unless you answer some of my un-answered questions!"

Sasuke glared at Kairi, but she just grinned, patting him on the back. He stiffened at this gesture. Absolutely no one, **no one**, touched him. "Don't. Touch. Me."

Kairi withdrew, sighing. "You really like to talk in one word sentences, don't you?" She put her hands in the back of her head, walking alongside with Sasuke. "Tell me, what did that girl say to you?"

Sasuke raised a brow out of curiosity. "What girl?"

"The one at the mall," she said.

"There was no girl," Sasuke said. He wondered how Kairi knew this. He was sure that she wasn't around when he was talking to her…

Kairi sighed. "I saw you with her, Sasuke. You were talking to her, and she was talking to you. She didn't seem like a fan girl, because you would normally glare at your fan girls, letting them faint and then leave them. She was telling you something. What was it?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked as he stopped walking.

"You were with a girl," she said slowly at first. "I know she was telling you something important, otherwise you wouldn't have even look at her. Tell me what she said," she pressed on.

"She said nothing," he said, walking again.

"So there **was** a girl!" She shouted accusingly, pointing at him. "What did she say?"

"That," Sasuke glared at Kairi, which made her flinch a bit, "is none of your business."

"I have the right to know," Kairi said demandingly. "She told me she was going to be back. I was the one who told Tenten. When is she going to be back? I know that the girl was telling you something about Sakura. You wouldn't talk to a complete stranger if it wasn't about her."

"Shut up will you?" Sasuke growled, rubbing his temples. "She just said a few things Sakura told her to tell me. That's all."

"She told you more," she pressed on.

"Fine! If I tell you, will you stop asking me all these pointless questions?!" Sasuke barked.

Kairi nodded, a bit scared of what Sasuke might do.

"That girl—Hyuan Mina or whatever her name is—told me that she was coming back—"

"When?" Kairi asked, cutting into Sasuke's sentence.

Sasuke, being the calm guy he is, tried to not let anger take over his body and beat the crap out of Kairi for being so annoying. Kairi noticed this, and apologized before he had the chance to do it. And when he did answer, he said it slowly, so Kairi wouldn't have to ask him to repeat it. His simple answer was:

"Two months."

* * *

_Edit—Sunday, February 17, 2008_

_Reviewers(:_

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	23. Dec 17, Sun Part III

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month One**  
_Day Twenty-Nine_

**Chapter Twenty-Three**—Matchmaking, Hyuuga Style

"Hey Shikamaru…" Ino started.

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

They both withdrew to a grassy field after they had left the group. They were lying down on the ground, looking up at the sky which was filled up with stars. They weren't so far away from the fair, but far enough to not hear the noises.

"Do you ever wonder how Sakura is—?"

"If you're wondering how Neji is going to take it when she comes back, then you shouldn't worry so much. He's almost over it now," Shikamaru explained.

"How do you know?" Ino asked, briefly looking at Shikamaru for a second.

"Back at the ski trip, he was pissed off because Sasuke kissed Tenten. That has to say something about him getting over Sakura, right?"

"Maybe he was just—"

"Ino," Shikamaru cut in, "he's over it. I'm pretty sure of it. It's troublesome but… I think he's fallen for Tenten instead."

Ino grinned. "That's good."

"You shouldn't worry so much Ino," he said softly.

Ino grinned, but didn't say anything. She snuggled a bit closer to Shikamaru, and closed her eyes. "Thank you, Shikamaru…"

* * *

"What happened to you?" He asked, raising a brow at her wet figure.

"Kankuro," she said in disgust. "He tricked me into taking over his booth and then dunked me into the water. Just because Ino and I teased him about getting asked out, he had to get me wet!"

"Where is Yamanaka?" Neji asked, looking around.

Tenten shrugged. "She ditched me for Shikamaru when I got to the booth or something."

Tenten shivered a bit from the cold. Neji noticed this, and took off his sweatshirt, giving it to Tenten. Tenten looked a bit surprised, raising a brow at Neji. "Take it," Neji said. "Your…"

Tenten looked where he was looking, and looked down at her chest. She blushed furiously when she found out where he was looking. She zipped up her jacket, having to forgotten to zip it up when she was dunked at the pool. Maybe that was why there were a few whistles when she was walking back here…

'_I knew this was a bad day to wear white…'_ Tenten thought as she blushed again.

Neji seemed to have been debating himself with something. Making a choice what he thought was smart; he took off his sweatshirt and handed it to Tenten. Tenten looked at him questioningly, tilting her head at him.

"You'll get sick," he stated simply.

Tenten took his sweatshirt without a word, and switched her jacket with his sweatshirt, while he looked away. As soon as she was down, Neji sat wordlessly next to her.

Clutching his sweatshirt tighter around herself, Tenten blushed again. Neji didn't seem to mind the chilly air, even though it was December. Tenten looked sideways at Neji, to see what he was wearing. He had a white undershirt on, showing off a bit of his muscles. It was sleeveless, making Tenten wonder if he was cold.

"Neji… it's cold. Are you sure you don't want your sweatshirt?" Tenten asked worriedly.

Neji looked at her, shaking his head. "I'd rather be the one getting sick, not you."

Tenten blushed, realizing what Neji had said. _'So… he cares…'_

"Why don't we go home?" Tenten suggested. "You're going to catch a cold if you continue to sit out here in the cold."

Neji seemed to hesitate, but got up. He held down a hand to Tenten. Tenten grinned, taking his hand as he pulled her up. Neji's grip tightened around her hand as he pulled her up. Sparks flew up Tenten's arm when she felt his hand close around hers, but was disappointed when he let go quickly.

They walked side by side in silence. It's been bugging Tenten that Neji didn't say anything about the ski trip for a while. _'Ah well,'_ Tenten thought grimly,_ 'might as well ask…'_

"Neji?" Tenten asked. When Neji looked at Tenten, she continued. "What did Sasuke tell you…? At the ski trip, I mean. You said that he explained the… uhm, the—"

"He said that," Neji said, cutting into Tenten's sentence, knowing that it was odd for her to talk about their kiss, "that he had no intention of dating you. That he was just testing my feelings for you."

"Well uhm," Tenten said uneasily. "Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Have feelings for me, I mean…"

Neji looked at Tenten, who was staring straight ahead, trying to avoid his gaze. "I'm not so sure," he said quietly.

Tenten felt herself frown a bit, but then shook it off. _'Better than being told he only thinks of me just as a friend, right? At least now he's thinking of me as something else…'_

"And you?" Neji asked.

"Huh?" Tenten asked, snapping out of her thoughts and looking at Neji.

"Do you have any feelings?" He didn't dare to add 'about me'.

Though, Tenten knew that was what he was talking. She knew that it was his pride that he would put on the line. "Uh… I guess I'm not so sure either…"

"Then we should remain as friends," he said. "Pretend that everything on the ski trip didn't happen."

Tenten scrunched her face, thinking hard about it. Forgetting it would mean forgetting that she had figured out her real feelings for Neji, even though she didn't want to admit it. But if it works out with Neji, well… "Alright," Tenten said.

'_Friends…'_ Tenten thought as they walked in silence. _'I wonder how long that'll keep up…'_

* * *

They walked through the crowds without a single thought in their minds. They didn't have a destination they wanted to get to—they just enjoyed each other's companies. Naruto grinned happily as he pointed out a bunch of stuff to Hinata, who smiled in return, suggesting that they should go to a certain booth.

"Ne, Hinata-chan," Naruto said, as they sat down on a bench with a drink in hand, "why is Neji so uptight? Didn't he get over Sakura-chan already?"

That took Hinata by surprise. Naruto, who was one of Neji's closest friends, was asking Hinata this kind of question. Normally, Hinata would've just answered it, blushing a bit. But this time, she felt that he had something more important to ask.

"Why do you ask t-that, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, sipping her soda.

"Oh," Naruto gave her one of his grins, "I was just wondering… Since he seems so paranoid about everything these days. It's like he knew Sakura was going to come back!"

Hinata was startled by his answer. She nearly spit out her drink, but swallowed it calmly. "Naruto-kun…" She started, looking at the confused Naruto, "how do you know that Sakura-chan was coming back…?"

"Well she told me!" Naruto grinned. "She said that she might be coming back a few months—Hey!! You didn't stutter!" He yelled, pointing at the poor blushing Hyuuga.

Hinata blushed a crimson red, but ignored it. She wanted to find out how much Naruto knew about Sakura's return. "But Naruto-kun, she said that she didn't know when she c-coming back. Why w-would she tell you that—?"

Naruto shrugged, scrunching his eyebrows in deep thought. "I don't know… She just said she thought that she might come back in a few months after she leaves… And she said something about Neji too…"

"Like what?" Hinata said quietly, trying to get Naruto to tell her.

Naruto sat on the bench with a confused face. "Why do you want to know Hinata-chan? She's coming back in about two months or something… You can ask her then!" He said with a grin.

"B-But Naruto-kun," she said. "What did she tell you?"

Naruto tried hard to remember what Sakura had told him back in the spring last summer. "All I remember is that she wanted to talk to me alone in the locker rooms… Neji, Sasuke and Shikamaru had already left the locker rooms and they said they were waiting for me outside…"

"D-Did you tell them what Sakura-chan told you?" Hinata asked.

Naruto shook his head. "I'm pretty sure I didn't…"

'_I need to know what happened…'_ Hinata thought, she said frowned. "Why does this matter?" Naruto asked innocently, looking at Hinata intently.

Hinata blushed at the way Naruto was looking at her. "I-It doesn't," she lied. "I just wanted to know what Sakura-chan told you that she never told us…"

"Oh…" Naruto said. "Well, when I remember, I'll be sure to tell you!" He said with a grin.

Hinata smiled back at him. "Okay, Naruto-kun."

* * *

"_Uchiha Sasuke? Is that you?" She asked._

_She had light red hair, and red eyes. 'Probably contacts…' Sasuke thought to himself. She wore a T-shirt and jeans, with a black jacket, unzipped. Sasuke grunted, as if waiting for what she had to say._

"_It really is you! I've been looking all over for you! You wouldn't __**believe**__ how long it takes to look for someone like you!" She yelled excitedly._

_Sasuke started walking away, thinking it's another fan girl._

"_No, please wait! I'm not one of your fan girls, as much as I want to be anyways! I'm a friend of Haruno Sakura!" She yelled, making Sasuke stop immediately._

"_What did you say?" Sasuke asked, looking at the girl._

_Having suddenly the Uchiha look at the girl, she blushed immediately. She glanced around a bit nervously before repeating what she said. "I'm a friend of Sakura… Haruno Sakura."_

"_What does she want?" Sasuke asked, glaring at the girl._

"_Ah, please don't be mad at her!" The girl pleaded at she took a step towards the Uchiha._

_He glared at her, making her stop in her tracks. "Uhm, she didn't mean to take off that suddenly without an explanation to you guys… She said she's really sorry! She means it!"_

"_Why are you telling me this?" Sasuke asked coldly._

"_She said told me to tell you it… What she was going to say… She thought that you might still be interested in—"_

_Sasuke laughed coldly. "Interested? I wouldn't be interested in her in any way anymore, or anything that even concerns her."_

"_That's not true!" The girl suddenly shouted. That made Sasuke glare at her, which she suddenly quieted down by. "If you weren't interested, then you wouldn't have stopped when I told you that I was a friend of Sakura's."_

_Sasuke didn't say anything back, except kept his glare on her._

"_She says she's coming back in two months… maybe about three months… but she thought it was for sure it's two months," the girl said._

"_Who are you?" He said._

"_Hyuan Mina. Uhm, she also said to give you this," she held out an envelope, stretching her shaking arm towards Sasuke._

_He took it after a look, eyeing the girl, Mina._

"_I didn't read it, if that's what you're thinking," she said quickly. She started blushing, why, Sasuke didn't know. "Uh—I—That's pretty much what she wanted me to tell you," she said._

_She waited for Sasuke to say something, but he didn't. When she made sure that he had nothing else to say, she turned around and walked out of the store. Sasuke stared at the white envelope, written in the front was Sakura's neat handwriting: __**To Uchiha Sasuke.**_

_Sasuke didn't even notice that the girl was gone already. He stood there, in the store, debating on whether he should open it or not. Deciding against his curiosity, he shoved it in his pocket, stuffing his hands in there as well. He decided to forget about it, thinking that it would just a bunch of useless words begging for his forgiveness._

_She did once, beg for him to accept her apology. She had said that she made a huge mistake not wanting to be his friend. Of course, he didn't accept. He merely walked away, leaving Sakura nearly crying. That had gotten the Hyuuga and him into a huge fight._

—

'_I wonder where that envelope is now…'_ Sasuke thought to himself as he looked out into the clear lake.

When he gave his answer to Kairi, she left him immediately, to Sasuke's pleasure. He then took a walk down to the lake, seeing as though he hated the crowd and its noise. He sat down by the bench, just staring out into the lake.

That had been hours ago—or so it felt to Sasuke. And he was still in the exact same spot, staring out into the lake. It was reflecting the moon's light, showing a beautiful, clear oval in there. Nights like this, Sasuke wished that there was someone he could share it with.

Even though Sasuke had received that envelope at least about a month ago, he had totally forgotten where he had put it. He racked his brain for places he might've shoved it into when he was angry, but got no results back. He cursed himself for being an idiot, and leaving it in a place he didn't know where he left it. Now he'll never know what was in that envelope, as much as he hated Haruno Sakura.

He didn't really hate her. He actually liked her, and her annoying talkative self. It was like she was brightening the room when she walked into one. Sasuke never really showed his feelings for her. He assumed that she knew how he felt, because he didn't shove her away like all his other fan girls.

But then, he was wrong. After he found out that Sakura was with the Hyuuga, he had gotten himself pretty drunk. It was at a party—Sakura and Neji's party as them as a couple.

He had no idea how he got drunk, but he was pretty sure that someone had spiked his drink. When Neji was gone, for about a minute, he had come onto Sakura. He had no idea why, but he did. Sakura got scared, and Neji had been angry at Sasuke for over a week.

Sakura had decided that she didn't want to friends with Sasuke anymore, due to the fact that he came onto her. He thought that it was a stupid idea. He was drunk for god's sake! Sakura had scolded him for being drunk, and then taking advantage of her. Sasuke had gotten so mad, that he had flung a chair across the room.

No, he wasn't mad that he wasn't Sakura's friend anymore. He was mad that she even thought that he was _trying _to get himself drunk. When he tried to explained how it happened calmly to her, she wouldn't listen. That had gotten him mad. When he did throw the chair, the Hyuuga and him got into another fight.

They never had fist fights. It was always verbally. When Sasuke had had enough, he walked away pissed off. A few months later though, Sakura had come back to Sasuke, trying to get his forgiveness.

Back then, all Sasuke had felt was anger towards everyone when Sakura had stopped being his friend. The only person though, that he hadn't felt anger towards was Naruto, who had talked sense into him. Shikamaru though, was another one. Naruto had introduced them in their freshman year in high school, Shikamaru didn't care that Sasuke was basically ignoring him. Soon enough though, Sasuke grown used to him, and they started becoming friends.

That was when Neji got into the picture again. Sakura had left, and Neji was a mess. A mess that he could ever be, anyways. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, and he did ditch school once. Naruto had been the one who made him a bit like his old self, though he didn't actually help him be the old Hyuuga Neji.

Sasuke thought about getting revenge from Neji, but decided against it. Everyone would hate him, and he had enough of that. He eventually became close to Neji, despite the fact that they would still get into a few small fights.

The four of them had gotten along pretty well. But then Tenten entered the picture. She wasn't a problem to Sasuke, of course. But then, when he had asked her for help, she suddenly turned into one. He knew that Neji had an eye on her, the same way he did for Sakura. But Sasuke had a feeling that Neji liked Tenten more than Sakura.

Sasuke couldn't help but feel a slight attraction towards Tenten. He had felt comfortable with Tenten like he had with Sakura. In a way, the reason of his attraction towards Tenten was because she reminded him of Sakura.

* * *

Kairi pushed through the crowds, trying to figure it out. _'Two months… Two more months and she'll be back… Should I tell Tenten? She'll probably be upset and try to do something drastic. If I don't tell her… she'll probably be upset when she finds out, and she'll also be upset at me when she learns that I didn't tell her…'_ Kairi groaned in frustrated as she narrowly missed bumping into a kid who was running. _'This is so confusing!'_

"Kairi?" She heard a deep voice behind her.

She turned around, surprised to see Kiba standing there, with a dango in hand. In his other hand was a small, blue teddy bear. She raised a brow, questioningly why he was there.

"It is you," he mused, grinning at her.

Kairi sighed. "Why are you here?"

"It's a fair," he shrugged. "Why is anyone here?"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. What do you want?"

"Ouch," he said, pretending to be hurt. "Am I not wanted?"

"Make it quick," she said.

He shrugged again, eating up his last piece of dango. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out here. You seemed like you were in a pretty big hurry," he said, raising a brow. "Someone chasing you or something?"

Kairi sighed. "I wish it was like that," she muttered. "Sorry, but I have to go."

"C'mon," he said, grinning. "Have a little fun, won't you?"

Kairi hesitated, wondering if she should go with Kiba. She shrugged, assuming that the others won't mind her absence. "Why not?"

"Excellent," he said with a sly grin.

* * *

The walk home was quite comfortable, really. Tenten had talked on and on about useless things, though Neji had talked once or twice. Neji didn't mind Tenten doing most of the talking, since he rarely talked that much. Tenten enjoyed Neji's company, and he made her laugh a couple of times.

Tenten sworn she had seen Neji walk through the door with a small smile when they got to the Hyuuga Manor. She was about to tease him, when she noticed that there was a stuff animal in his hand. It was a brown teddy bear, with two ribbons tied on each of its ear. The ribbon was long; long enough for you to tie in your hair. The bear was not exactly big, but it wasn't exactly small. It was a medium size, and Tenten wondered why she hadn't seen it before.

"Neji," she said slowly. "Why do you have a bear in your hand?"

Neji looked at Tenten before looking down at the brown bear. He grunted, not answering as he continued up the stairs. "Neji," she called out again as she ran to him. "Why?"

He didn't say anything at first, but when they arrived at the hallway, he tossed her the bear. "For you," he said as he continued to his room.

Tenten looked after Neji in confusion. She then stared down at the bear, which it was smiling back up at Tenten. She looked back up to see that Neji had already disappeared in his room, closing his door shut. Tenten sighed in confusion, opening her door and retreating in it.

—

She stared at the odd happy looking bear for what seem like hours before someone knocked on the door. Snapping out of her trance from staring at the bear, Tenten yelled, "Come in!"

The door was pushed open slowly, revealing Hinata in her sleeping gown. She closed the door gently, and walked to Tenten's bed slowly and quietly. Tenten looked at Hinata with confusion. Hinata sat on the bed's edge, fiddling with her fingers before speaking.

"A-At the fair…" She started nervously, "Naruto-kun told me something about Sakura-chan…" She said her name quietly, as if it was a sin to speak of her name.

Tenten shrugged. "So?"

"H-He said that Sakura-chan would come back in about t-two months…" Hinata said, looking at Tenten quickly to see if she showed any kind of emotion.

Tenten stopped playing with the bear that Neji gave her. "What…? She's coming back? I mean I knew she was coming back, but in two months?" Hinata nodded, waiting for a burst of emotion. It never came. "Well… I finally get to meet her, right?"

She plastered on a big smile, grinning at Hinata. Hinata frowned slightly at Tenten. "Aren't you a-at least a bit worried about—?"

Tenten sighed. "It's not like I don't want her to come back," she said. "I mean, she was all of your friend, right? It would be bad if I wanted her to stay away all this time. She's gonna have to come back sooner or later. The sooner she comes, the sooner we can get over with it."

Hinata's frown deepened. "Is… I-Is this what you think? That w-we just need to get over with it?"

Tenten looked a bit startled. "I-I didn't mean it that way Hinata… I was just—"

"I-I get it, Tenten. I wasn't trying to make anything of it," Hinata said quickly, before Tenten got the wrong idea. "I just thought that with Sakura-chan coming back, Neji-niisan will probably be somewhat w-weird, and I thought that i-it would upset you somehow—"

"Hinata," Tenten said, looking at her with tired eyes, "I get it. But Neji and I are just friends. We made it clear to each other tonight. There's absolutely nothing going on," she said with a warm smile.

But Hinata could see behind it. Behind all of her cheerfulness, and pretending that she was happy Sakura was coming back, Hinata knew that there's was some kind of depression inside of her. Hinata frowned again, but nodded at Tenten.

"W-Well then… I should be in bed," Hinata said, getting up. She saw the bear that Tenten was playing around with. "Where'd you get that?"

Tenten looked up at Hinata. "This?" She asked, holding the bear up a little. Hinata nodded. "Neji gave it to me when we came back. I think he won it in a booth or something…"

As Tenten trailed off in her thoughts, Hinata said goodnight, and went back to her room. Hinata was sure that the two had feelings for each other. And she was positive that they both wanted something more than friendship. Both had prides they didn't want to give up.

Hinata climbed into her bed, clicking off her lamp._ 'Tenten's in denial if she says that they're just friends… She really liked Neji-niisan…'_

Hinata started drifting off to sleep, before thinking the last coherent thought:

'_I need to get them together somehow…'_

**And thus, the Matchmaking Hyuuga Style began.**

* * *

_Edit—Sunday, February 17, 2008_

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	24. Dec 18, Mon to Dec 24, Sun

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month One – Month Two**  
_Day Thirty – Day Six_

**Chapter Twenty-Four**—The White Envelope

"Bye Father!" Hinata shouted a bit, as she closed the door behind her.

So this was it. Alone in the Hyuuga Manor by herself was a bit frightening. But she wasn't all by herself, seeing as though she had Neji and Tenten with her. As well as the maids and butlers in the Manor.

"Your father left already Hinata?" Tenten asked as she came down the stairs.

Hinata nodded as she saw Neji follow her down the stairs too. Tenten looked a bit disappointed when she saw Hinata nod her head. "I wanted to say bye to him too…" Tenten sighed as she jumped down the last two steps of the stairs. "Ah well. Just my luck," she said as she walked to the kitchen. "What's for breakfast?"

Neji followed her silently to the kitchen, not making a comment on anything. Hinata also followed them, wondering what she had to do.

"I-I'm not sure," she replied, when she noticed that Tenten was looking at her for an answer. She blushed, looking away from Tenten.

It felt awkward to have someone staring at you, and even if Hinata had something planned out for Tenten and Neji, she was sure that they didn't know of it. _'But… why do I feel so guilty whenever I'm thinking about this?'_ She thought a bit sadly as she looked at Tenten talking to Neji.

'_Maybe… I should tell the others for help..' _

* * *

"Where is it…"

Sasuke cursed under his breath as he rummaged through has drawers. He threw a shirt over his shoulder, as well as some pants and boxers. He stopped for a moment, just standing there and glaring at his drawer until he resumed throwing clothes over his shoulder.

"Where the fuck is it…"

"You know mom wouldn't like you messing up your room," a voice interrupted his… raid.

"Shut up Itachi," he hissed.

He threw a glare over his shoulder, just in time to see an amused look on his older brother's face. When his fist connected with the bottom of his drawer, he turned around. _'It's not here…'_

"What are you looking for?" He asked.

"None of your business," Sasuke muttered as he started stuffing in clothes.

"If it's that little white envelope of yours that went down the washing machine…," he paused as he smirked, "I suggest you move on it."

With that, he walked away. Sasuke looked at where he was previously standing, before cursing under his breath and walked down to the maid's quarter.

—

"S-Sasuke-sama!" The maid shouted, jumping back what seemed like two hundred feet. "W-What are you done here for?"

"Where is it?" He asked darkly, glaring at the trembling maid.

Now, at this point, he'd probably seem to be talking like a psychotic killer. Plus, adding to the near deafening glare of his, he'd probably make an excellent murderer.

"W-What are you talking about?"

"The white envelope," he said (more like growled).

"O-Over there," the maid said, using her shaking arm to point to a table with a white envelope on it.

Sasuke looked at it before grabbing it off the table. As he walked out of the room, he looked back once more. The maid stared at him wide eyed, probably wondering why he had looked back. Sasuke stared at her for a moment, before walking away.

The maid let out a sigh, which seemed to be like a sigh of relief.

"Thank god he didn't find out who I am…"

* * *

_Month 2, Day 4 – December 23, Saturday_

"Tenten, don't fall asleep!"

Tenten jolt out of her dream, looking around for the person who woke her up. Ino was standing in front of her, a dress over her arm, with her hands on her hips. She had on the determined expression—one thing that Tenten was very afraid of from Ino. Tenten could hear the mumbling and cursing from one of the dressing rooms—which was where Kairi obviously had to be.

"Uh… yeah?" Tenten asked cluelessly.

"Tenten, I know you don't like the mall, nevertheless the shops **in **them, but at least try to pretend you're excited!" Ino smiled brightly at Tenten.

Tenten groaned and slumped down in her seat, closing her eyes as if Ino's smile could've blinded her. And with her attitude, it probably would.

"Why are we even here?" She groaned, nearly sliding out of her seat.

Ino frowned. "You've been asking that every ten minutes!" Ino sighed, "We're here because we all need an outfit for the party tomorrow! It's not like you're going to go to your own party in sweats or jeans, right?" Ino snorted, as if it was the most ridiculous thing she has ever heard.

And it probably was, considering to all the parties she had been to.

Tenten sighed, sitting up in her seat once again. "Well then, why am **I **here? I could just borrow something of Hinata's," she said, looking over at where Hinata was sitting.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Like you could fit into Hinata's clothes?"

When she realized that Tenten was glaring at her, she flinched. "I meant that in a good way!"

Now it was Tenten's turn to roll her eyes. "Well, either way, I don't see how I can afford any of these clothes," she said, waving her arms, indicating that she was talking about the clothes in the store.

Ino waved it off. "Don't worry, I got it." She shrugged, looking at the dress she had in her hands, "just make sure that you return the money when you get a job," she said, grinning at Tenten.

"Which will be never!" Came from Kairi, who was still in the dressing room.

Ino laughed while Tenten blushed. "Oh come on, it's not like I'm going to live with Hinata forever, right? I'll find a job soon, and move out too!"

"Right, right," Ino said, walking over to where Kairi's dressing room was. "Kairi, are you stuck in your dress or something? You've been in there an awfully long time…"

"Are you trying to imply something?!" Kairi snapped.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Ino immediately defended, laughing nervously. "Just trying to ask what's taking so long…"

Tenten could hear Kairi's groan of frustration when Ino started badgering her about why she was taking such a long time. For what seemed like hours to Tenten, Kairi finally spoke up instead of saying incoherent mumbles.

"Hey, Ino," Kairi started. "Why don't you find Tenten a dress in the meantime?"

Ino brightened up at that idea, totally forgetting the fact that Kairi was getting away with something she didn't want to answer. "You're right! C'mon Tenten, let's go find that perfect dress for you!"

Kairi laughed at that, but Tenten knew that she was laughing at her. "Why are we even trying _on _dresses? It's in the middle of winter for god's sake!" Tenten said, slumping down in her seat.

"Well, you're right about that," Ino said thoughtfully, pausing from grabbing and dragging Tenten to the other side of the shop.

"Really?" Tenten brightened up, sitting up in her seat. "So does that mean that I don't have to try on dresses?"

"Well," Ino said, pausing, "if you can't try on dresses…"

"Oh my god…" Tenten groaned, once again, slumped down in her seat.

Ino grinned. "You try on skirts!"

* * *

_Day 6, December 24, Sunday: Christmas Eve_

"Hey, this actually looks like it's going to be a good party," Kiba said, grinning as he walked up to Ino.

Ino scoffed, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Of _course _it's going to be a good party! Have you forgotten who's hosting it?"

"She seems to be forgetting that we're the ones who came up with having the party…" Tenten mumbled to Hinata.

Hinata smiled lightly. "W-Well, she was the one who came up with the ideas…"

Tenten sighed. "Well, yeah, I guess you could say that she's the host of the party…"

Fidgeting nervously in the outfit that Ino picked out for her, Tenten looked around the room. Most of the people who came had dressed up, guys in tux, some girls in dresses. Tenten raised a brow at them. "This is ridiculous," she muttered to Hinata. "This is just a party, not the prom!"

"Well, you'll be amazed at what events people dress up on," Kairi said, suddenly appearing next to Tenten.

"Gah!" Tenten stumbled onto Hinata, surprised that Kairi was even there. "What are you going here?"

"I can't?" Kairi pretended to look hurt.

"What I meant was, why aren't you with Kiba, huh?" Tenten asked, elbowing Kairi.

She blushed, and looked away. "Why would I be with him? It's not like we're together or anything," she scoffed, and continuously scoff, thinking that the idea was ludicrous.

"Well, that doesn't look like it when you were with him at the fair," Tenten sang, grinning at Kairi.

"Then what did it look like?" Kairi asked, glaring at Tenten.

Tenten grinned, not pressing anymore on the subject. "So, what do you think of Ino's _fabulous_ party thrown here?" Tenten asked, jerking her head towards the crowd of people.

"It's like all her other parties," Kairi said, rubbing her temples. "Loud."

Tenten smirked. "You sounded just like Shikamaru for a second," she stifled her laughter.

Kairi rolled her eyes, looking to the other side of Tenten. "Where'd Hinata go?"

"Hinata?" Tenten looked to her to her other side, to find that Hinata wasn't there. "Where **did **she go?"

Kairi and Tenten looked around, until Kairi pointed her out through the crowds. She looked like she was dancing with someone, although they couldn't see the guy she was dancing with due to the fact that a million other people were blocking her. She was blushing hard, and there was just one person in the world that made her blush that hard.

"Oh my god, she's dancing with Naruto," Kairi said, with a wicked grin.

And that was true. To Tenten's surprise, it seemed that Hinata was doing quite well on her own, except for the fact where she was blushing a million times red. Tenten grinned at Hinata, happy that her friend was managing well. It seemed that she had more confidence around Naruto, even though she had no idea what gave her that confidence.

"We do have one thing to worry about though," Kairi said, staring to the right of Tenten. "Here comes the over protective cousin," she muttered to Tenten.

Tenten grinned, "I'll keep him busy. Make sure that Hinata is having the time of her life!"

"Will do," Kairi said, also grinning, "and remember! Don't do something I wouldn't do!"

"Will do," Tenten repeated, grinning once more.

* * *

"Please do tell me why you brought me out here," Neji said impatiently, glaring at Tenten.

"Well," Tenten started, looking around at the bright night, "I thought that it would be nice to… take a walk this night!" Tenten said with a grin. "I mean, it's just a beautiful night isn't it?"

Neji raised a brow, not believing her. "I should get back—"

"Neji, Hinata can take care of herself. Why are you always so protective around her?" Tenten asked, looking up at Neji.

Neji looked back into Tenten's chocolate eyes that shimmer in the moonlight. She sighed inaudibly, and looked up at the moon. "I have no reason for it. My father, he—," Neji stopped himself from saying anything. He hesitated, as if he was debating on whether he should tell her or not.

"It's okay," Tenten said with a grin as she also looked up at the moon. "You don't have to say anything if you feel uncomfortable. But… promise me one thing, okay?"

Neji looked back at Tenten, who was still staring up at the twinkling sky. "What is it?"

"Try to… give Hinata more space, okay?" Tenten smiled at Neji. "She's becoming more confident with Naruto, and I'd hate for her to lose everything she's been working for up until now."

Neji didn't say anything at first. "Okay," he finally said, looking back up at the sky.

'_If it's for you Tenten… I might just about do anything.'_

—

"Do you think its working?" Naruto whispered to Hinata.

Hinata smiled slightly at Naruto. "I t-think it is."

Naruto grinned. "Sasuke-teme will never believe that I would be doing this! They'll be together in no time and I'll win that bet!" Naruto whispered, punching his first in the air.

"N-Naruto-kun… you're only doing this b-because of a b-bet you made with Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked.

Naruto blinked at Hinata while putting his first down. He laughed nervously. "Yeah… You aren't mad, are you Hinata-chan?"

Hinata smiled, and shook her head. "I-I was the one who came to you f-for the help, so I shouldn't be the one who's g-getting mad…"

"Right!" Naruto grinned. "No one will believe us when we say that we're the ones who got Neji and Tenten together!"

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata said, trying to get Naruto's attention. "D-Don't be so loud or they'll h-hear us…"

"Sorry Hinata-chan," Naruto whispered, crouching down low behind the bush, trying to make himself seem smaller.

Hinata giggled a little at Naruto's actions. Naruto gave her a sheepish grin, before the both moved silently to another bush, following the two (Neji and Tenten) down the road.

Right after Hinata had seen Tenten drag Neji out of the Hyuuga Manor, she and Naruto followed them both out of the Manor too, following the two of them. They slipped past Kairi's sight, and nearly got caught by Ino who had stopped them and asked them where they were going.

Naruto was laughing nervously throughout the whole conversation with Ino, trying his best to not blow what they both had planned. Ino took his nervous laughter in the wrong direction, and thought that they were both going to go to a bedroom and… sleep together, like what most people at the party was doing.

Hinata had blushed deeply, and said that they were just going out for a walk, before heading out quickly before anyone else stopped them and asked what they were doing. They both nearly lost where Neji and Tenten was, but had luckily found them talking at a close park near the Hyuuga Manor.

Now, in order to spy on them, Naruto and Hinata had hid behind a bush, trying to eavesdrop on what they were saying. As Neji and Tenten walked along the road, side by side, Naruto and Hinata scurried along, hiding behind bush after bush, tree after tree, car after car, wall after wall.

"N-Naruto-kun, do you want to head back? I-It seems like they're getting along f-fine," Hinata said, suddenly stopping.

Naruto blinked at Hinata. He scratched his head for an answer. "Well… if you want to stop here, then okay!" He grinned. "Let's go back to the party!"

* * *

"Where is she?!" Kairi shouted at Ino, crushing the paper cup in her hands.

Ino widened her eyes at that action. _'Thank god that there was no juice in there… otherwise I'll be the one who have to clean that up…'_ Ino thought, inwardly sighing. "W-Who are you talking about, Kairi?" Ino asked, stuttering at the first word, a bit afraid of what Kairi might do to her.

"Hinata!" Kairi shouted, throwing up her hands. "Who else?!"

"Uh… Tenten?" Ino laughed nervously. When she found out that Kairi was glaring at her, Ino stopped laughing. "Well, I saw her head outside with Naruto, and that was the last time I saw them…"

Kairi groaned. "Who knows where they went!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Kairi, I think Neji has rubbed off of you. Since when were you that protective of Hinata anyways?" Ino didn't let Kairi get the chance to reply. "You should become more like me," at that point, Kairi scoffed, "when I saw them heading out, I thought that they were going to get a room together, you know, to do what mostly every couple is doing here," Kairi widened her eyes. She was about to interrupt, when Ino put her hand up to stop Kairi from talking, "but if it was Neji, or any other person, they would've freaked out!"

"So what did you do?" Kairi asked dryly, interrupting Ino, which got her glaring at Kairi. "Encourage the two of them to have sex together when they haven't even gone out?"

Ino laughed. "I wasn't encouraging them to have _sex,_" Ino said. "I just said it was alright for them to sleep together."

Kairi resisted the urge to punch Ino's face. "Any _normal _person would've **stopped **them," Kairi said through her gritted teeth.

Ino raised a brow. "Are you saying that I'm not normal?"

"Oh Ino," Kairi said, forcing a smile, "you're far from normal."

"Well, _sorry _for trying to give her encouragement for sleeping with Naruto!" Ino said, rolling her eyes. "What else was I suppose to do? Yell her not to do it until she's been going out with Naruto for three years?" Ino rolled her eyes once again.

"That would be nice," Kairi said, grinning sarcastically.

"I'm not her _mother _for god's sake," Ino said, putting aside her drink on the table. "If you're so worried about her, then why aren't you out there looking for her right now? Instead of taking the time talking to me, since I'm not even _normal,_" Ino rolled her eyes, biting into a cookie that was on a tray.

Kairi was about to retort back when the front door opened. "Hinata!" Kairi said, running towards her.

Ino walked after Kairi towards Hinata. "Where were you Hinata? Kairi was worrying like a mother about you," Ino said with a grin. "Didn't do anything naughty with Naruto, did you Hinata?"

Hinata immediately blushed, even though she and Naruto didn't do anything. "N-Not at all Ino! W-What gave y-you that idea?!"

"Our dear Kairi over here thought you were doing rather naughty things," Ino said, patting Kairi's head.

Kairi glared at Ino. "Don't do that," she said. She turned her attention towards Naruto, who was standing besides Hinata. "What did you do to her?!"

Naruto laughed. "That was what Neji said to me once!"

Kairi glared at him. "Don't compare me to the silent bastard," she said.

"Actually," a voice interrupted. "I would rather not be referred to as the 'silent bastard'."

Kairi looked at the door, to see who interrupted her. It was Neji and Tenten, standing next to each other. Tenten had an amused smile on her face, and Neji was glaring at Kairi for calling him a 'silent bastard'.

"But that's what you are, aren't you? Just a silent bastard who doesn't even say anything half the time!" Kairi shouted.

"What happened to her?" Tenten asked Ino, who walked over to her.

Ino laughed. "Someone's cranky because Kiba hadn't talked to her at all throughout the party."

Tenten also laughed. Kairi glared at the two, before stomping off towards the kitchen. Neji walked the opposite direction, to where Shikamaru was. Naruto went off to find Sasuke, to tell him something—which was obviously about the bet they had made on Neji and Tenten—and Hinata was left with Ino and Tenten who stopped laughing after Kairi stomped off.

"S-Shouldn't we go after—?" Hinata started, before Ino cut in.

"She'll cool down after a while," Ino said, waving off that suggestion.

"I'm getting hungry," Tenten commented, as the three of them weaved through the crowds.

Ino stopped at a table, picking up a cookie to bite on. She chewed for a moment before grinning. "How are you hungry? Wasn't Neji enough?"

Hinata giggled as she also took a cookie. Tenten glared at Ino, "How can you _possibly _think that, Ino?"

Ino shrugged as she washed down the last bite of cookie with punch. "You two were together outside. What else was I suppose to think?"

"Two people that were taking a _walk_, maybe?" Tenten said dryly.

"The s-same with me and Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly, as she chewed on her cookie slowly.

Ino sighed. "You guys are no fun…"

Tenten grinned. "That's better."

* * *

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shouted, running towards Sasuke.

Sasuke looked up from his hand. _'I thought I lost him an hour ago…'_ He thought, narrowing his eyes at him. _'And just when there was finally peace and quiet…'_

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shouted once again.

"What dobe?" Sasuke asked in a distressed voice.

Naruto stopped. Never once in his life, had he heard Sasuke talk like that. Well, there was one time where he did, but that was a different story. Naruto pondered for a bit, trying to figure out why he was in a stressed mood.

"What dobe?" Sasuke repeated again, now in a hard tone, which was his everyday tone.

Naruto blinked, forgetting what he was going to tell before he heard Sasuke's distressed voice. "Sasuke-teme! What's in your hand?" Naruto asked, suddenly noticing the white envelope in his hand.

Sasuke cursed under his breath. _'I should've put it in my pocket…'_ Sasuke looked away. "Nothing. What did you want to tell me?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Tell me what's with the envelope!" Naruto said, folding his arms.

"Persistent brat…" Sasuke muttered under his breath. "You want to know what's in this envelope?" Sasuke asked, holding up the white envelope.

Naruto nodded.

Sasuke smirked. "It's a letter. Now leave me alone," he said, narrowing his eyes at Naruto.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "It's a letter…"

Sasuke raised his brow. "Isn't that what I said?"

"It's a letter… from Sakura, isn't it?"

* * *

_Edit—Sunday, February 17, 2008_

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Review &hope it snows even more :D


	25. Dec 24, Sun

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Six_

_**Recap**_

"_It's a letter…"_

_Sasuke raised his brow. "Isn't that what I said?"_

"_It's a letter… from Sakura, isn't it?"_

**Chapter Twenty-Five**—Haruno Sakura

He narrowed his eyes as he glared at Naruto. "What are you talking about?" Naruto didn't answer him, but he had his eyes fixed on the envelope.

"Did you read it yet?" Was all he said.

The playfulness that was etched in his voice a few minutes ago was no longer there. It was instead filled with an emotion that Sasuke never witnessed Naruto show. "Well?" He looked away from the white envelope, and up at Sasuke's face.

Sasuke didn't answer him. He turned away from Naruto, deciding that he was going to ignore what he had said.

"Hey! Sasuke-teme!"

* * *

"Bye!" Tenten shouted, waving the last guest out of the Hyuuga Manor.

Hinata stood next to her, and smiled at the guests who were walking—well, more like stumbling out. Ino sighed as she rubbed her temples. "Who the hell brought alcohol to the party?" She mumbled, as she sighed once again.

"I'd ask Kairi's boyfriend," Tenten sang, grinning at Kairi, who was next to Ino.

Kairi glared at Tenten. "He had nothing to do with it!" She yelled, defending him. Tenten laughed as she closed the door behind the last guest. "I beg to differ, Kairi. I saw him sneak in at least 10 boxes of vodka."

"I saw him chugging down at least two bottles," Ino agreed, tapping on her chin as she thought back to when she had last seen Kiba.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Whatever. At least he's not driving home today…"

Tenten grinned as she slung an arm over Hinata's shoulder, which caught her off-guard. "That's because Hinata here was nice enough to let him stay for the night!"

Hinata blushed as she smiled a little. Ino giggled as she put on her jacket. "Well, guys, I gotta go. My parents will freak if I'm not home by 3," she said, rolling her eyes. She sighed, "and I wanted to stay here for the night…"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Just because Shikamaru isn't going home, doesn't mean that you can just crash the night and sleep with him in the guest room, Ino," she said with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Ino shouted, blushing. "Who said I wanted to stay for the night because of him?!"

"Shut up," Kairi mocked Ino, as she started putting on her own jacket. She grinned as she patted Ino on the back. "Its okay, Ino. We all know that you can't control your hormones. You want to jump Shikamaru every time you see him, don't you?" She flashed a grin at Hinata and Tenten, and walked out the door.

"Kairi!" Ino shouted, as she ran out the door, chasing Kairi down the block.

Tenten laughed along with Hinata, as they shut the door. "Kairi should learn to keep her mouth shut," Tenten said, as she walked along with Hinata up the stairs.

"Most of her c-comments are un-needed," Hinata said with a giggle.

Tenten nodded, agreeing along with Hinata. "Just hope that she makes it home safe without any scratches on her face," she said with a grin on her face.

* * *

"Inuzuka, don't barf on the bed," Neji said, with a hint of disgust in his voice.

"Don't be like that, Neji," Kiba slurred, as he tried to grab onto Neji's arm.

Fortunately, Neji moved out of the way before Kiba could grab onto him. That action made Kiba fall flat on the floor, for he was on the bed when he had tried to grab onto Neji. Kiba groaned on the floor, but didn't make a motion to pick himself off the floor. Neji sighed as un-crossed his arms to help Kiba off the floor.

"Once you're sober, I'm going to send you to the hospital," Neji muttered under his breath, as he grabbed Kiba by the arm.

Kiba did nothing but laugh, as if he had heard what Neji said and thought that it was the funniest thing in the whole world.

* * *

"Night Hinata!" Tenten shouted, as she waved to Hinata.

Hinata waved back, before walking into her own room. Tenten did the same thing, and turned on the lights. Light illuminated the whole room, to which Tenten smiled at.

'_I'm going to miss this place once I move out…' _Tenten thought, as she sat on her bed. She looked around the room, before sighing and grabbing her pajamas. Walking towards the bathroom, she saw a white envelope on top of her drawers. She scrunched her eyebrows as she picked up the envelope.

'_What's this…?'_

* * *

"Was that the only thing you could've done, Sasuke?"

"What are you talking about, dobe?"

"I mean, giving the envelope to Tenten! Was that the only thing you could've done to tell her what happened between you two?"

Sasuke sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. Their conversations were repeating themselves, from when Sasuke had first stepped out of Tenten's room. Naruto had been following him ever since he ignored his question, and wouldn't _stop _following him until he answered his question.

Naruto waited patiently for Sasuke's answer. He knew that if he kept asking, he'll eventually get it out of him. He had done this plenty of times in the past, and was successful. He counted on his own stubbornness to get the information out of Sasuke.

"Why do you even care?" Sasuke asked, as he looked at Naruto.

The two walked down the block. Sasuke was going back to his house, and bam! Naruto was somehow right alongside him, following him and nagging him about the envelope.

"Well, because Sakura and Tenten are my friends too!" Naruto said loudly, as he looked at Sasuke.

"Dobe, be quiet. The whole neighborhood will hear you if you keep talking this loud," Sasuke said, as he looked straight ahead.

There was silence among them for a few seconds. That is, before Sasuke spoke up again. "I suppose I could have given it to her personally," Sasuke said, as he stuck his hand into his pocket.

"Why didn't you?" Naruto asked, as he too looked straight ahead.

Sasuke scoffed at Naruto. "Well, what was I suppose to say? 'Hey Tenten, I need to go. And before I go, here, a letter from Sakura to me. Hope this clears the confusion for you.'?"

Naruto thought about it. Sasuke scoffed again, not believing that Naruto was actually spending the time to think about it. "Well, yeah. That might've been good too. But was leaving it on her desk the only possibility?"

Sasuke resisted the urge to slap Naruto on the back of his head. He instead took a deep breath, which came out as a big sigh. "No, Naruto. It was the easiest way I could think of." He paused, as if he was thinking of something else to say.

"But it was the only way to make things less complicated for us."

* * *

'_To Uchiha Sasuke? What the hell is this?' _

That was all Tenten could think when she saw the letter. It was a neat handwriting—a girl's, she knew. It had to be a girl, since no guy she ever met had handwriting as neat as that.

'_Why is this here?' _Tenten thought, as she looked at the envelope. She bit her lip as she thought back to when she had last seen Sasuke. She widened her eyes as she realized the reason as to why Naruto and Sasuke were acting suspicious when she had caught them upstairs.

-

"_Sasuke? Why are you up here?"_

"_Hn."_

"_Naruto? Why are you guys even __**here**__?"_

"_Why? We can't be here?!"_

"_Gosh Naruto, it was just a question. No need to be so defensive."_

"_Why can't we be defensive? It's not like we have something to hide—"_

"_Shut. Up. Dobe."_

"…_Okay… You guys are acting suspicious. So tell me, why are you guys up here again? It's off-limits to people in the party…"_

"_But we're not just people! We're your friends too!"_

"_So that gives you the right to snoop around up here?"_

"_Who said we were snooping?"_

"_Yeah, who said?"_

"_I heard it once Naruto, no need to repeat what Sasuke just said…"_

"_Just saying…"_

"_You still haven't answered my question, you know."_

"_Uhm… we were… we were… here because… because…"_

"_We were looking for the bathroom."_

"…_Together? I thought only girls went together… Unless…?"_

"_Hell no we are. No need to be sexist."_

"_Oh. Okay. Just making sure, Sasuke. So… you __**do**__ normally go to the bathroom with each other…? I-I mean, it's alright if you do, 'cause it's perfectly normal for two teenage boys to go to the bathroom together."_

"_What do you take me for? The dobe wanted to go to the bathroom, but was too scared of the dark so he asked me to take him."_

"_Hey!! I didn't say that—!"_

"_Wow, I never knew that you'd actually agree to something like that Sasuke…"_

"_Shut up."_

"_Are you __**sure**__ that you were looking for the bathroom? Because for one thing, I know you guys come here a lot and the bathroom is __**that**__ way, not this way…"_

"_Why are you interrogating us, Tenten? It's not like we did anything right! Right teme? It's not like we snuck into your room or anything, and took a few things, or even put a few things in—"_

"_Do you know when to shut up, dobe?!"_

"…_Sorry…"_

"_Since when do you say sorry to Sasuke?"_

"_WHY?! Why can't I!?"_

"…_You guys are really acting strange tonight."_

_-_

Tenten cursed softly under her breath as she realized that was why they were up here. _'How come I didn't notice that they were coming out of __**my**__ room…?' _Tenten sighed as she put the envelope back on the dresser.

She continued her way to the bathroom, to change into her pajamas. As soon as she came out, however, she eyed the envelope once more. She sighed as she grabbed it, and walked over to her bed.

'_It's not like he doesn't want me to read it, right? I mean, if he didn't, then why would he even have left it there in the first place?' _Tenten grinned as she nodded to herself. She opened it quickly, seeing that it was already opened (it might be because Sasuke had already opened it, Tenten thinks).

"Here goes nothing…"

* * *

_Dear Sasuke,_

_This might seem weird, doesn't it? I mean, me writing a letter to you… and since I __**do**__ have your number with me… Yeah, I still have it. Doesn't that seem weird? I should've thrown it out when I said I didn't want to be friends with you anymore… But I couldn't seem to get the will to throw it out. Weird, isn't it?_

_Anyways, what I wanted to say in this… is that I'm sorry. Yes, totally the same as what you wanted to hear. I'm so predictable, aren't I? I mean, I've been asking for your forgiveness for weeks after I realized what a horrible mistake I've made… I guess being with Neji really confused me._

_Yes, I know what you're thinking. __**Hyuuga? I don't want to hear about him. **__I guess in a way, you're sort of predictable, too._

_But that's not what I wanted to say in this. Well, not the only thing I want to say in this, anyways. I know that it's probably weeks after you've received this from Mina, since I'm pretty sure that you're still mad at me. You were always the one to hold grudges against people, Sasuke._

_The reason for me writing this letter is yes, to yet again ask for your forgiveness, but also to tell you why I left so unexpectedly. I just couldn't keep up with the drama in my love life, and even more drama in my family. I had to move because of yes, family issues, but also because of what happened to you and Neji. I know that you might not think much of him, but he really is a good guy. I know that you might have already found out, because from some people, they say you guys are friends again. Guess my leaving did patch things up a little, didn't it?_

_That was also the reason why I left. I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want it anymore. Your friendship with Neji is more important than my relationship with Neji. I don't care what happens to me and Neji, but all I want is that you patch things up with him. And him patch things up with you, too. Was it wrong of me to leave? Did it mess things up even more for you guys?_

_I had no idea when I left. I was confused. I was hurt. I was just… lost. I didn't know what to do. I was caught between two guys that I had once loved. So… I just packed up and left._

_My family wasn't doing much better, either. My mother had a disease, and she needed surgery. Badly. My father was too busy working for the money to pay for it, even though we were pretty decent with money our whole lives. My mother made it through the surgery, though. But then that's when Dad started having problems._

_I guess you can call my life messed up, can't you? But, I'm not telling you all that about my family to get your pity. I certainly don't want the pity in my life anymore. I moved to America because of family problems. We weren't doing very well here, and my father needed someone to watch over him. The only other relatives we had were in America. I had no say in any of it, but I guess you could say that I was relieved._

_I was relieved that we were getting away. I was relieved that I didn't have to make up a reason to tell you guys, as to why I was getting away. I finally thought that once in my life, I chose the right path. To leave you guys, and start a new life, where you guys can forget about me, and live your own lives happily. But that didn't work out too well. I was the new kid, the geeky girl, the pink haired freak. The one who didn't have any friends, the one who supposedly died their hair because it was naturally white._

_Rumors spread about me like wildfire, and once again, I couldn't take it. I stayed home for a week, just to have more rumors spread about me once I got back to school. It was torture. Now I knew the consequences for leaving you guys. It's like karma, isn't it? I know that I was just running away from my problems, and I should've just faced them like a man. But I'm not a man. I'm a woman, and I couldn't handle the problems that I had at that time. It was either I get away, or I get a mental breakdown._

_I was masking everything I felt inside. I took anger out on you, when you tried to do those inappropriate things to me. I was angry. I wasn't thinking when I said I didn't want to be your friend anymore. I was wrong. I was horribly wrong. I regretted all my actions, and most of all, I regret the fact that I left you guys._

_But, none of that sad topic. I heard about Tenten. Don't worry; I'm not stalking you guys, or anything. She seems nice, and I wonder how she is once I meet her. I know that she probably wouldn't think of me as a good person, since she heard all this stuff about me already. But, I don't know if the things are good or bad. Guess we'll just have to wait and see, don't we?_

_My life in the past few months couldn't be just narrowed down in this piece of paper. Everything that happened to me can't be narrowed down into a few words. Everything that I felt can't just be expressed in paper and pen. I'll just have to tell you what happened to me in person, when I'm ready. And no, I'm not ready yet. Lucky for you, Sasuke, I'm not ready to come back. You don't have to face me, and I don't have to face you yet. Who knows when I'll be ready? It might be never, but of course, having this guilt; it might be sooner than I know._

_Tell the others that I miss them. I miss them so much, that I can hardly wake up in the morning without feeling sad. But I guess this is what I get since I left. Tell Naruto that I miss him the most. He was like a brother to me, as you know (: Tell him not to worry so much. He needs to be that spunky hyper kid that we see him as every single day._

_Tell the girls not to worry, either. I've only been calling Kairi because it seems like at this time, she's the only person I can talk to through the phone without bursting into tears. I know you never liked me crying, but I just can't help it. I haven't seen you guys in so many months, it hurts too much not to cry. I remember when you would always curse at me for crying…_

_But it's not reminiscing day, is it? Well, this letter has gotten long enough. I don't even think that it takes me this long to write my ten page essays. It took me a long time to think of what to write to you Sasuke, and I hope that you read this. Even if it __**is **__a page ripped apart to pieces. It still makes me feel better that you took the time to read what has happened to me._

_Well, this is it. The end of my letter. I'll come back, so don't worry :) The narrowest date I can come up with is this: Two months. So, get ready for it. Because I know I will._

_Bye, Sasuke. But it's only bye for now._

_**Hope to be your friend,**  
Haruno Sakura._

* * *

_Thanks for the reviews, guys(: Sorry I couldn't update faster, though…_

Chigiri Sasaki **ll **Shikyo Yaiba** ll **Grace Antares Whitlock-Hale** ll **Chocochip Haruka** ll **animegirl9989** ll **tenten10** ll **xNanoux** ll **4theloveofholy** ll **93addict** ll **tenjichan** ll **kitsune-grl** ll **loves-emo-guys-with-hair** ll **Kiyoi-Kei** ll **SnowCharms** ll **Trelunas** ll **_Lorna_** ll **Headlight39** ll **Queen-Addict** ll **lil'shinigami** ll **OnimeKyo-Kyuubi** ll **FallenAngelsFeelNoLove** ll **GossipgalMishi** ll **_lorna_

Ah phoo :P Two months of not updating )x Ackk. I'm hoping to get another chapter in before the mid-winter recess ends(x So, there you go:D Hope you guys can get along the story without the keys. It was bothering me, so I changed the top format(: Excuse my grammar, also. I'm a bit rusty from not writing so long, lols. The letter was too long, no? ): It was mostly a boring chapter, lols.

Oh, oh, did you guys see **Step Up 2**? Dayum, the break dancing was so hot lmfao. I wanna learn how to do it too :P

Okay… so yeah. We got our high school letters back by the way(: I got accepted into Bronx Science. Mwahaha, I feel so smart lmfao. All that studying paid off :P So, the no-updates didn't go to waste for nothing! xD Hehss(: Now two hours of my life it going to be wasted on the train):

**Review and you get a big hug(;**  
_Happy –almost– Easter(: Sorry I missed New Year's :o & Chinese New Year's, lols._


	26. Dec 25, Mon

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Seven_

**Chapter Twenty-Six—**Exhange

Tenten woke up the next morning with a massive headache. She felt like she had a hangover, even though she knew that she hadn't been drinking at that party Ino called 'fantastic'. She rubbed her temples as she stared at the sun in the sky, practically taunting her to look at it and blind herself with it. Tenten sighed as she tore her gaze away from the sun and at the white envelope on her dresser, where she had found it yesterday.

She didn't know why she had even opened it in the first place. It wasn't even hers—but then why would Sasuke even put it there if he hadn't meant it for her to read it? But this was ridiculous. Why would Sasuke want her to know something that personal between him and Sakura?

Suddenly, she felt a surge of anger through her body. Why would Sasuke want her to know this? Is this payback for what she had done to Neji, or someone else? She didn't even know _what _she did. Why would Sasuke want her to know? Is this some kind of warning to back off of Neji, because she was getting too close to him or something like that? But that can't be it. They aren't even that close!

But maybe it was like that. Maybe Sasuke was trying to show her that she was just a replacement for Sakura for Neji—not a real person. Even if they weren't that close—Sasuke was probably trying to show that she should stop trying to get close.

Tenten rubbed her eye with the back of her hand. She was thinking too much. Why would Sasuke do that? He wasn't like that kind of person. Maybe he wanted her to read the letter to understand Sakura better—or even, understand Sasuke better. After all, she did agree to help Sasuke find out if Neji still liked Sakura, from the beginning.

And that was when Tenten realized, that she didn't know if Neji was over Sakura yet. Tenten felt like she was going to throw up. She didn't even know if she liked Neji _that _much—to chase after a guy who might still like another girl. She wasn't like that kind of girl—she didn't chase after guys, and she didn't chase after _taken _guys, either. But technically, Neji wasn't taken—though his heart was, by a girl she never even met before.

Tenten sighed as she laid back down on her bed, staring up at the white ceiling. It wasn't fair. She didn't want to leave Neji yet. She knew that she didn't _have _to leave Neji, but she felt that if she stayed, something bad was going to happen. More things will get out of hand, and if she wasn't careful, she would be hurt. Neji, too. She didn't want to get hurt anymore, especially emotionally. She can take physical pain quite alright, but emotional pain was never one of her favorites.

But it's two months. Two months until Sakura comes back, two months until her fun stops, two months until everything won't be the same anymore. Just two months.

'_More than enough time to make some more memories here.'_

* * *

"Tenten? Tenten?" Hinata knocked on her bedroom door, but no sound reassured her that Tenten was still in her bedroom.

She bit her lip as she turned the knob—it was open. Tenten had been acting weird ever since she got to her room the other night. She went to sleep early—earlier than when Tenten sleeps, anyways. Hinata had went to Tenten's room after walking back to her own room, because she forgot something there, but Tenten was already in bed.

She was worried that there was something wrong with Tenten, but didn't ask any questions last night. She thought that she was tired—so she tried to give her some space. "Tenten?" She asked, taking a step into the room. She widened her eyes in amazement, looking around the room.

It was messy—beyond messy. Clothes were thrown all over the place; shoes were loitering around the door of the closet and undergarments were thrown carelessly over the bed, as if Tenten didn't care if a male walked right into the room. Hinata took another careful step into the messy room, afraid that she was going to step on her clothes.

"Hinata!" Tenten shouted, jumping in front of Hinata.

Hinata took a few steps back, her back hitting the closed door, surprised that Tenten was the same last time she saw her. Tenten looked at Hinata expectantly, as if she was expecting Hinata to say something. Finally realizing that Hinata was still surprised from Tenten's sudden appearance, Tenten smiled sheepishly at Hinata.

"Sorry for scaring you, Hinata," Tenten said, scratching the back of her head. "I was trying to… clean up my room," she explained, looking at the clothes on the floor.

Hinata blinked twice before regaining her senses and nodding. Tenten looked back at Hinata. "So, what do you need, Hinata?"

"U-Uh," Hinata said. Now that she was here, she didn't know what to say to Tenten. 'Oh, I wanted to make sure that you were alright since you seemed kind of out of it last night?' No, that wouldn't work for Hinata. "I-I just wanted to see why you were in y-your room for so long," Hinata explained quickly, so that her pause wouldn't seem so quite suspicious.

"Oh," Tenten said. "Let me just finish putting some things away and I'll be downstairs, alright?"

Hinata nodded as she opened the door and walked out of the room.

At least Tenten seemed fine.

* * *

"So, what do you want to do today?" Tenten asked. "I feel like going out today!"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "I'm not stepping a foot out in that cold weather. You could freeze to death out there though," she said with a smile.

Tenten scoffed. "Who's the idiot that came over at nine when they said, 'it's fucking cold out there', huh?"

Kairi shrugged. "I have no idea," she said with a grin.

Tenten laughed as she laid back on the couch. Five minutes past in silence, and Tenten groaned. "Let's do something today!" She shouted, standing up.

"What's down your pants," Kairi commented, as she played with the pillow next to her.

"She's b-been like that since I found h-her cleaning her room," Hinata said, as she looked after Tenten who ran up the stairs to do something.

Kairi sighed as she heard a crash upstairs. "And it's another thing that today's Christmas…" she said to Hinata. Hinata nodded in agreement.

"WHAT THE FUCK NEJI?!"

Another crash was heard upstairs, followed by laughter, which sounded very much like Tenten. More curses were thrown into that mix of noise, and another crash was heard. Kairi looked at Hinata with a raised brow, but Hinata was walking towards the stairs, to see what was going on. Kairi sighed as she ran after Hinata. Knowing that Tenten had something to do with the noise, Kairi knew that this would be hilarious. The corners of her mouth tugged up into a smile as she followed quickly after Hinata.

Hinata stopped at what happened to be the door of the guest room, aka, the place where all the noises were coming from. It was slightly open, and you could hear Tenten's laughter. It was louder in front of the door, really.

"TENTEN, YOU BETTER FRICKING GIVE ME BACK THAT CAMERA!"

The voice that sounded very much like Kiba shouted, and another loud crash was heard. Pushing Hinata aside (she seemed to have frozen up when she touched the door knob), she pushed open the door to find Kiba jumping over the bed and chasing Tenten around the room. Looking at what looked like Neji (he was on the floor—probably the cause of the first loud noise that they heard), Kairi bit her lip from making a comment that would lead to her death.

His hair was messed up, his shirt was crumpled, and his pants were un-adjusted. To be truthful, he looked like he was through having sex. Now that you think about it… Kairi looked at Kiba, who was still chasing the laughing Tenten. His hair was messed up, and his shirt, unlike Neji, was no where to be seen. He only wore a pair of bright red boxers that hurt Kairi's eyes from staring at it too long.

Neji stood up, rubbing his temples and growling at the noise. "Shut the fuck up," he shouted, as he collapsed on the bed.

Kiba halted, and stopped chasing Tenten. Tenten then stopped too, seeing as though Kiba stopped. Kiba then pounced on Neji, his fist ready to hit his face. Fortunately, Neji had faster reflexes, and blocked Kiba's fist.

"What the fuck are you doing, Inuzuka?" Neji asked, glaring at Kiba.

"What the fuck am **I** doing?! What the fuck are **you **doing in the same bed as me?!" Kiba shouted, some spit getting on to Neji's face. "You little fucker! You fucking better not have taken advantage of me when I was drunk!"

Neji glared at Kiba, while Kairi, along with Tenten, burst out laughing. Hinata covered her mouth, as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh my god!" Kairi said, laughing till tears were threatening to fall.

"You fucking retard!" Neji shouted, pushing Kiba to the floor. "Do you think I'm **gay**?!"

Kiba got up, glaring at Neji. His hands were forming fists, but he kept them to his sides. "Well, from the way you were cuddling next to me, it seems like you're gay!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Neji shouted. If expressions could kill, Neji would be dead already. "I'm not the one who fucking kept pulling at someone's arm, and kept making sex noises," he growled.

"You actually fell for it you—"

"Alright!" Tenten shouted, when she regained her posture, and stopped laughing. "Let's not start a fight, alright?" She asked, grinning at the two who glared at her. "Let's just forget about what happened and start anew!"

"I will if you give me the fucking picture," Kiba growled, taking a step towards Tenten.

Tenten grinned sheepishly as she hid the camera behind her back. Kairi's eyes glinted with mischief as she mouthed a few words to Tenten. Tenten, catching on quick, threw the camera towards Kairi. Kairi caught it with ease, and started running towards Tenten's room. Neji caught on, and ran after Kairi, along with Kiba. Tenten ran after them, laughing.

Hinata was still in daze of what had happened.

-

"That was hilarious," Tenten declared as she sat back on the couch.

Kairi nodded in agreement. "Too bad Ino wasn't here," she said with a grin.

"Speaking of Ino," Tenten said. "Where is Shikamaru?"

"H-He left earlier in the morning," Hinata explained. "H-His mom was yelling at him to get home q-quickly, even though he has a hangover," she said.

"Oh," Tenten said. "Well… now what? Kiba's in the shower and Neji's also in the shower. What do we do now?"

Kairi sighed. "You're awfully hyper today, Tenten. What's with you?"

Tenten grinned. "It's Christmas! You can't be dull on Christmas," she said. "Let's all come back here at nighttime to open presents!"

"We have our own families, Tenten," Kairi said, rolling her eyes as she grinned at Tenten.

Tenten frowned. "Right… I forgot about that," Tenten grinned sheepishly. She sighed as she laid her head down. "Should've done it yesterday…"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Stop being a drama queen, Tenten. I could be late for my family dinner, so I guess I could go home and get the presents."

Tenten brightened up and she sat up. "Really? Great! Tell the others too!"

"Of course, Tenten," Kairi said with a grin. "Of course."

* * *

"This is pointless," Neji declared, as the others scattered around the tree.

Tenten rolled her eyes as she elbowed Neji on the side. "Don't be like that, Neji," she grinned teasingly. "It's the spirit of giving! You don't have to be embarrassed because you don't have a present for anyone," she said.

Neji scoffed. "Who said I didn't have a present for anyone? It's just this gathering idea is dumb."

Tenten rolled her eyes once again. "Don't be such a downer, Neji. It's Christmas!" She said with a smile.

"You've been saying that ever since Kairi agreed to call everyone over," he mumbled to himself.

It was now six o'clock, and the usual people whom Tenten hung out with were here, at the Hyuuga Manor. They were unpacking the Christmas tree that they bought last minute at a store, and the ornaments. Kiba, being the pervert he is, started sneaking in and putting up a few mistletoes all over the place to see if any one of them would fall into his oh-so intelligent trap.

"Don't make it fall Sasuke!" Kairi shouted out, making Sasuke glare at her.

"If you don't shut up, I'll make it fall on _you_," Sasuke threatened, holding the angel over Kairi's head.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Your empty threats don't work on me," she said, scoffing. Looking a bit nervous, she took a huge step to the right, and started talking to Ino as if Sasuke had never threatened her.

Sasuke smirked, as he continued climbing up the ladder to put the angel on top of the tree. Suddenly, a quick flash blinded him for a second. He blinked, and looked at where the flash came from. As soon as he spotted Tenten with a camera, he glared at her. Sasuke quickly put the angel on top of the tree, and jumped off of the ladder as he approached Tenten.

"Erase that picture," he demanded.

Tenten shook her head as she stuck out her tongue. "Memories, Sasuke. Don't you want to treasure the memories that we all have together?"

Seeing a hint of sadness in her eyes, his expression softened. Noticing that Neji was next to her, raising a brow at Sasuke's change in emotions, he glared at Tenten once again. "You better not post those pictures on the net," he said, turning around and walking away from her.

Tenten grinned as she knew that she had won this time. Neji raised a brow once again. He shook his head, not wanting to know why she would go to all the trouble to just take a picture of meaningless things.

-

"H-Here, Tenten," Hinata said, interrupting her conversation with Kairi and Kiba. Tenten looked at what Hinata had in her hands.

It was hot chocolate. Tenten grinned, thanking Hinata before turning back to talking with Kairi and Kiba. Hinata walked off, giving the others hot chocolate as well, before they started opening the presents.

"Alright everyone!" Ino shouted, clapping her hands.

Most of them rolled their eyes at Ino. "No need to be the announcer, Ino," Kairi said with a grin. "Just get to the point!"

Ino glared at Kairi. She grinned back at the rest of the people, like she hadn't glared at Kairi at all. "Now, time for presents!" Ino shouted, as she got her present and shoved it into Shikamaru's hands.

Tenten grinned at the couple's bickering, and then turned to Kairi. She took out a rectangular box from under the tree, and gave it to Kairi. She waited patiently for Kairi to tear open the box. "Hurry up!" Tenten complained, since it was taking forever for Kairi to open the present.

Kairi laughed at Tenten's patience. She ripped open the wrapper, and opened the box. "'101 Ways to Piss your Brother Off,'" she read from the book. She stared at Tenten in confusion.

Tenten grinned sheepishly at her, "I was confused as to what to get you," she explained. "But there are some mean things in there," Tenten said, laughing.

Kairi grinned as she flipped through the book. "Well, I never really did like books, but I'll make an exception for this one," she said, grinning at Tenten. "I'll use it on people other than my brother too! Thanks Tenten! I can finally get back at Naruto now!"

Tenten laughed at Kairi. Ino walked over and sat down on the other side of Kairi. She handed Kairi an odd shaped wrapped gift. "Nice wrapping skills, Ino," Kairi commented.

"Shut up," Ino said, grinning. "Just open it."

Kairi ripped off the wrapping paper, and raised a brow. "A mirror? Why would I need a _mirror_?"

Ino smiled slyly. "Remember how you broke the last one with just looking at the mirror? Well, now you have a new one, and if you break it, I'm not getting you a new one!"

Kairi glared at Ino, who was still smiling. Tenten stifled her laughter as she watched Ino walk back to the tree and came back with another gift in her hands. She gave it to Tenten, who took it gratefully.

"I hope it's not a _mirror_…" Kairi muttered under her breath.

Tenten couldn't help but grin as she open the gift.

* * *

"That was the best!" Tenten said, as she laid down on the bed.

"Of course it was," Neji said, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Tenten grinned at the ceiling. She was imagining him looking at the presents in his hand with distaste. "Oh, come one Neji," Tenten said. "You can't say that was the worst thing you've experienced."

"I did not say that," Neji said. "I just think that it could have been a little less annoying."

Tenten laughed. "You're just upset because Naruto sneezed in your food."

"…He did _what_?!" Neji asked loudly.

Tenten sat up in her bed, looking at Neji, wide-eyed. "Don't tell me you didn't _know_," she said, with a grin.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to kill that dobe…"

"Since when did you start calling him dobe?" Tenten asked with a grin.

"Since he became one," he said.

Before Tenten could say anything, he pushed himself off of her bedroom wall, and started walking towards the door. "Where are you going?" Tenten asked, raising a brow at him.

He stopped, "To wash my mouth ten times," he said, not turning around. He continued walking. As soon as his hand was on the door, he turned around. He took a white box from his pocket, and threw it at Tenten, who had resumed to staring at the ceiling.

"Ow!" She shouted, sitting back up, rubbing her forehead, staring at the box with distaste. "What **is **that, Neji? Couldn't you have just given it to me instead?"

When she received no reply, she looked at the door, thinking that Neji would be standing there, smirking at her. What happened in reality, though, was that the door was closed, and Neji wasn't there at all. He had left when she was complaining. Tenten grumbled as she picked up the box. It had a little white bow in the corner of it, which was kind of cute to Tenten.

She opened the lid, and saw a piece of paper in there.

_**You thought I forgot about you, didn't I?**_

* * *

_Tee why for the reviews, guys(;_

Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei** ll **DarkestBurning** ll **lil'shinigami** ll **tenten10** ll **Shikyo Yaiba** ll **nejitenten4eva** ll **ShikallllTema** ll **Lyris88** ll **animegirl9989** ll **_mpfoxus07_** ll **_Lorna_** ll **SnowCharms** ll **sadistickIdenial** ll **Cloudy.Fox** ll **_Hikoru, Aniki_** ll **_Lorna_** ll **SasuTenJi1010** ll **Chigiri Sasaki** ll **_lorna_

Wow, that was another two months of not updating… o.o What is with me and two months? (x Lmfao. It's Spring Break, so that means more free time on my hands(: But I'll have to get to studying soon—my science exam is on the thirtieth):

Sorry for the grammar. It was written during my 'moment' lols.

**Reviewing, that's what you should be doing(:  
**_My friend's birthday was yesterday! And my other friend's birthday was two days ago! (: Just thought I'd throw that in, lols._


	27. Dec 25 to 30, Mon to Sun

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Seven – Day Thirteen  
_

**Chapter Twenty-Seven—**Tonight

"What the hell does he think he's doing…" Tenten muttered to herself as she read the note.

She hadn't expected a gift from him. Not at all. Actually, she felt like she didn't _want _a gift from him. But the thought of him giving her a gift like this… it was… well… it actually felt… _nice_.

"I swear, if he got me something pricey, I'll—"

Well, yeah. You can probably guess what happened. Just when she picked up the note, the gift made her speechless. It was a diamond dove on a simple chain. But the fact that it was real diamond, on a real silver necklace made Tenten speechless.

'_What the hell,' _Tenten thought to herself, as she hurriedly put back the necklace back into the box. _'He's confusing me even more now,' _she held on to the box for a second, before stuffing it in the drawer next to her.

"I hope he doesn't mean anything by it…" She muttered to herself, although her mind told her otherwise.

* * *

_Month 2 Day 10, December 28, Thursday_

"Neji!" Tenten shouted, barging into Neji's room without waiting for an answer. "What's taking you so long?!"

Almost like déjà vu, there was no one in Neji's room. Tenten sighed as she walked towards his bathroom door. She heard the water running, and assumed that he was taking a shower. Looking around the room, she unconsciously looked over at the spot where she first saw Sakura's picture on Neji's desk.

But what was odd though, there was no picture of her there. In fact—the whole room didn't even look the same as when she first was here. Most of the furniture in his room was re-arranged, and the colors were different. She remembered seeing a bit of pictures here and there from their first meeting, but now, there were no pictures.

When the water stopped running, Tenten turned around to face the bathroom door. Instinctively, she blushed, even though there was nothing to blush about. She busied herself with something in the room—luckily; there was _one _picture that caught her eye as she turned around.

It was a snapshot of the day of Misaki's 'surprise' birthday (though it wasn't really his birthday) party. Everyone was covered in food, from head to toe and toe to head. Misaki was the only one who wasn't in the picture—so Tenten assumed that he was the one who took the picture.

"How did he get a hold of this…" Tenten muttered to herself as she smiled.

She remembered back when that happened—it seemed so long ago, she thought that she had amnesia and forgot about it. It was so much fun—the laughter never seemed to stop ringing in her ears.

"What are you doing in here?"

Oh yes. It was like déjà vu.

-

"You didn't have to stay in here to wait for me," Neji grunted out, as he tied his hair.

He had been blow-drying it for the past half hour – it was rather an amusing sight. Tenten couldn't help but laugh every time he looked at her. It seemed like Neji was a real girl, blow-drying his long hair, nearly as long as hers when she put it down.

"No, no, it's okay. Besides, it's more fun here than downstairs," Tenten commented, as she grinned at Neji.

He narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't say anything else after that. He walked out of the bathroom with Tenten following behind, looking back at his bathroom. Once they were in Neji's room again, Tenten gathered up the courage to ask what had been bothering her.

"Neji," Tenten started, getting Neji's attention. He waited for her to continue, but she didn't say anything else after that. She bit her lip and changed what she was asking before Neji said anything. "So, where's that picture of Sakura?" She asked quickly, pointing at the spot that the picture of Sakura used to be sitting.

He didn't seem to show nay reaction at first, but he looked away when Tenten looked at him. She was waiting for an answer, and was about to say something before Hinata walked into the room.

"Are you guys ready yet—?" Hinata noticed the tense atmosphere and closed her mouth quickly. "U-Uhm… I'll just wait for you two to f-finish up then…"

As soon as Hinata walked away, Neji started heading for the door. Tenten sensed that he didn't want to answer, so she said nothing more. She started following him, but he suddenly stopped.

"It's almost a new year," he said, his back still facing Tenten. "It's time for something new. There's no point dwelling on the past."

And with that, Neji walked off, with a stunned Tenten still standing in his room.

* * *

_Month 2 Day 13, December 31, Sunday_

"So, you're coming tonight, right?" Ino asked, her voice sort of blurred from the noise in the background.

"Yeah," Tenten answered absentmindedly.

"Okay, so I – What? No. No. NO! Didn't I already say—?! Uh, Tenten," Ino said, switching from conversation to conversation. "I have to go. Kairi has a bit of a hearing problem," she said.

Before Tenten could say anything however, Ino already hung up. The dial tone was beeping in her ear before she realized that Ino had already hung up. Tenten sighed as she put her cell phone on the bed.

She was confused as to why Neji would say something like that. For the past three days, he had been avoiding her. Every time she went to find where he was, he would magically disappear from his room and all the other parts of the house. But when Hinata went to find him, however, he would just show up before she even took a step.

'_Maybe I'm just paranoid…' _She thought, as she stared up at the ceiling.

There was basically nothing to do before the party, and she didn't feel like buying a new dress or figuring out what to wear. What she _wanted _to do was ask Neji what he meant by, "there's no point dwelling in the past." Did that mean he was over Sakura? Was he going to move on and forget about her?

Did he even know that Sakura was coming back in two months?

Questions swirled Tenten's mind as hours passed by. She stayed in her room, not coming out for breakfast or lunch. When the clock hit six o'clock, she was still in the same spot on her bed, unmoving. Hinata had come up multiple times to check on her and bring her food, but Tenten told Hinata to get out nicely (if there was even a way to do it).

By now it was six thirty – the time of Ino's New Year party. Tenten sighed as she picked herself up to get dressed. She didn't even know what she was going to wear—she spent most of the day… well, you know. As she walked to her closet, she bit her lip as she went over what she had in her closet. Which wasn't a lot.

"Great…" Tenten muttered to herself. "If I show up in jeans, Ino will kill me…"

-

"T-Tenten?" Hinata's soft voice echoed through the long hallways.

"Yeah," Tenten said, rubbing the back of her head. She grinned sheepishly. "I didn't have a dress to wear… is this good though?"

Dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt, Tenten looked very plain. Her hair was up in their usual place, and she wore no jewelry. It looked very much like she was going to play basketball or some other sport—Ino will kill her for that.

"You look… u-uh…" Hinata stuttered over her heads, trying to look for a compliment even though it was hard. "L-like you always do…?" Hinata questioned, not succeeding in her attempt to compliment Tenten.

Tenten grinned at Hinata. "It's okay Hinata. I know I don't look like I'm going to a party," she rolled her eyes as she picked up her jacket. "But at least I won't freeze to death when I walk out of the house!" She said with a smile.

"As long as y-you're happy," Hinata said with a small smile. She looked at the clock in the living, "W-we should get going," Hinata said. "I-Ino-chan will get mad at us if we're late."

Tenten nodded as she walked towards the door. Before she could put her hand on the handle, however, Neji seemed to have popped out of no where. "Tenten," he said, as if the whole ignoring game between them didn't happen to them for the past two, three days.

"Come with me somewhere," he stated clearly, his hand on the handle, stopping Tenten from opening the door.

Tenten was confused, not knowing why now of all times that Neji started talking to her again. Maybe she was imagining that he was ignoring her for the past few days. Maybe she was just paranoid about the Christmas gift he gave her, and over thought things…

No—that couldn't be it. At least, that's what she thought. She was pretty sure that he was avoiding her for the past few days. So why start talking now?

She turned to Hinata with a confused expression. Hinata frowned and shrugged, not knowing why Neji would ask her to go somewhere just before Ino's party started. She turned back to Neji with the same expression, but he didn't say anymore. "But Ino's party is just in a few minutes," she said.

"It won't take that long," Neji said, swiftly opening and walking out the door.

Tenten sighed as she followed Neji. "Tell Ino that I'll be late," she said, looking over her shoulder at Hinata. Hinata nodded at her, as she also looked on with a confused expression. "Hopefully this won't take long…" Tenten muttered to herself.

'_But knowing Neji, this'll probably take the whole night, if he couldn't say what he wanted to say at the house.'_

* * *

"So…" Tenten tried to strike up a conversation between them as they walked through the cold streets.

Neji didn't seem to hear her. That or he just ignored her. He walked straight ahead, not even looking in any other direction. Tenten sighed as she directed her attention back in front of her. It wasn't freezing cold (but it was only like 7 at night), but Tenten still felt that it was freezing.

She held her jacket close to her body, wishing that this was over and she was at Ino's party. To be truthful, she'd rather be outside with Neji—but it was so cold to her that she wanted to be at Ino's party. It wasn't the party that she wanted to go—it was the heat that came along with it.

But she wasn't going to tell that reason to Ino for coming to her party.

Tenten turned around to look at the huge clock building from the Hyuuga Manor (yes, you could even spot it from where they were). Only fifteen minutes had passed when they started walking. To Tenten, it felt like hours. It was unnerving to walk beside Neji when he was eerily silent, especially since he was the one who wanted to talk to you.

Tenten sighed. It wasn't usually like this—the silences they had before were either murderous (when they had first met) or comforting (when they actually became friends).

'_This is ridiculous,' _Tenten thought, narrowing her eyes ahead. _'If he wants to talk, why wait? He made it seem so damn important…' _She sighed silently as she closed her eyes. _'This better be important or I'll beat the living—'_

"You shouldn't think thoughts like that, Tenten," Neji's voice broke into Tenten's thoughts.

Tenten stopped walking, widening her eyes as she looked at Neji. He kept walking, as if he didn't notice that she had stopped. She quickly regained her composure as she ran to keep up with him. "W-What was I thinking?" Tenten asked, wondering what Neji thought she was thinking.

"Things like, 'I'll beat the crap out of you,' or something along the lines of that," he said with a smirk as he finally took a glance at Tenten.

Tenten narrowed her eyes, but she couldn't feel happy that he looked at her. "I wasn't thinking that at all," she lied quietly to herself.

"Sure you weren't," Neji said.

Tenten smiled slightly as she looked on the ground. She could hear the teasing in his voice—that had to mean that he wasn't in anyway upset, right?

"So what did you need to talk to me about?" Tenten asked, deciding to change the subject.

Neji seemed to have lost his 'playfulness' (if he ever had that from the start…) when she asked. Tenten scrunched her eyebrows, wondering if she shouldn't have asked that question.

"You'll see when we get there," he said.

-

'_An hour passed already, and we're still walking,' _Tenten thought grumpily, glaring at Neji beside her. She grunted as she pushed a snowy bush out of her way uphill. _'Where the hell are we going anyways?'_

After walking a few miles (Neji had refused to take the bus), they had taken a route on a snowy mountain to where Neji wanted to go to. Tenten knew that it was going to take a while being with Neji, but she didn't think that it would take _this _long. The two spent nearly an hour and a half trekking upwards on the rather small mountain.

"How long is this going to take?" Tenten grumbled. "Ino's going to kill me if I don't show up…"

"Only a few more minutes to go," Neji answered, accidentally hearing what Tenten said. He smirked at Tenten. "She won't kill you if you don't see her, and you won't be seeing her tonight."

Somehow, that didn't make her feel better.

* * *

"Where is Tenten!?" Ino shouted.

"C-Calm down," Hinata said quietly, as she tried to restrain Ino from running out of her own party to kill Tenten. "S-She said she'll be here in a few minutes…"

"A **few**?!" Ino shouted, as she stopped struggling against Hinata. She stomped her foot. "It's been over an hour, and I think that doesn't count for a few minutes!"

"Oh just leave the poor girl alone Ino," Kairi said, chewing on a chocolate strawberry as she entered the kitchen. "Neji's not here either. Maybe they're together," she wiggled her eyebrows at Ino.

Ino glared at Kairi. "She won't do something like that! I'm sure she'll tell me something if she—"

"N-Neji-niisan did show up before we went to your party," Hinata said thoughtfully, thinking back.

Ino switched her anger from Kairi to Hinata. Sensing that that was the wrong thing to say, Hinata took a step back and gave her a nervous smile. "You _knew _about something like that, and you didn't _say _anything?" She asked quietly.

"I-I didn't think it was such a big deal…" Hinata said, slowing retreating back to the party.

"Of course it's a big deal!" Ino threw her hands up in the air. "If I'd known that, I would've been enjoying my own party!" She slammed her hands down on the kitchen counter. "Lucky bum, she'll so get it if she doesn't tell me what happened…"

* * *

"…what is this supposed to be?"

"What do you think it is?"

Tenten sighed. She knew that it was useless trying to ask Neji something. She looked ahead, looking at the twinkling lights of the buildings. It was getting dark—though Tenten had no idea what time it was. The view was beautiful—on the way up, they saw the sun set, and the darkness closing in.

It was getting colder than before as Tenten wrapped her jacket closer around her. It was dead silent—no animals, no sound, no nothing.

"Why did you bring me here?" Tenten asked quietly, not wanting to destroy the silent atmosphere.

There was no sound from Neji. She thought that he had left her there, but when she turned around, he was staring at the city lights intensely. Minutes passed, and he was still staring at it, in deep thought.

Tenten was about to speak up, but Neji opened his mouth. "It's pretty, isn't it?" He asked quietly, his eyes never leaving the sight.

Wondering why he would bring up something like that, Tenten just went along with what he said. "Yeah," she answered back quietly.

"This… it's where she… I…" Neji stumbled over his words quietly, so quietly that Tenten wondered if she even heard Neji say those words.

"This is the place that I met Sakura…"

* * *

_Thank you for all the reviews!! (:_

Shikyo Yaiba** ll **animegirl9989 **ll **Lyris88** ll **lizzpercush** ll **lil'shinigami** ll **Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei** ll** kiwipie** ll** _Hikoru, Aniki_** ll **Chigiri Sasaki** ll **Airashii Mochidzuki** ll **nejitenten4eva** ll** Lingering Soul-Broken Mind** ll** Trelunas** ll** chinese-otakufan** ll **Nightshadow Dweller** ll** xmarachanx** ll** ShikallllTema** ll** Misery's-Toll** ll** 93addict** ll** Minty** ll** SnowCharms** ll** dianalovely1995** ll** eMoGurlzz** ll** loves-emo-guys-with-hair** ll** debilicious** ll** _10weapons10_** ll** FoxFlyer

Eheh… I haven't updated for a while, have I? o.o; Well, at least I did now! (x Maybe it'll take me a while for me to update x; I have no idea, lols. Here are my lame reasons;

It's the end of the year. I'm tired of studying (lmfao, like I actually studied throughout the whole year…) and staying in school for like eight hours a day. My graduation's coming up though! :D And so is my senior trip. I wanna have fun—and I'm too lazy to go on the computer everyday x;

Anyways, I finished this yesterday, but I got pissed cause the internet went out o.o;; So, yeah. And on Saturday, it was a whole day of shopping xD Not like you guys care, harharhar. And, sorry for my grammar. And the way I wrote it. I suck at writing now—but it's not like I was every good, hahah.

**Review, yehyehyehyeh, you should do that(:  
**_Tomorrow's my math regents :x Review to get my mind off of that? xD_


	28. Jan 1, Mon

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Fourteen_

**Chapter Twenty-Eight—**Love Like That

"Tenten?"

"I don't think she heard you…"

"No, really?"

"Stop with the sarcasm, Kairi. Are you on a sarcasm rampage today?"

"At least I don't talk like a have a stick up my ass today."

"**What **did you just say about me?"

"See? Total stick up your ass."

"Would you just shut up? At least I _have _an ass…"

"Poor retort, Ino. If I didn't have an ass right now, then how would I be sitting down?"

"…"

"Exactly."

"Whatever. Tenten! Did you get enough sleep or are you dozing off?" Ino asked looking intently at Tenten.

She blinked a few times before she saw Ino's intense gaze. "What?" She asked almost inaudibly, sitting up straight, since she was slouching a bit before.

Ino leaned back in her chair and sighed. "She's a lost case," she mumbled to herself.

The three girls were in a quaint little café—different from the one Kiba and Shino worked at. The café was in an enormous shopping mall—the reason for the huge noises in the background that kept distracting Tenten.

Ino pouted at Tenten, who in return, stared at something behind Ino. Ino raised a brow at her actions—she knew that there was no one behind her, except for a plant. Ino stirred her coffee and looked up at Kairi. She mouthed the words, 'she's dead', to Kairi and she nodded along, agreeing with her.

Ever since Ino met up with Tenten in the party (or close to the end of the party, if you wanted to be exact), she had been a bit dazed, like she was just sleep walking. Neji didn't show up at the party after he dropped Tenten off, and Ino was quite suspicious of that.

Kairi and Ino did everything they could last night of get anything, just _anything _out of Tenten, but she had kept her mouth shut. She just shook her head and smiled at them, like nothing had happened.

'_Bullshit,' _Ino had thought. _'If nothing happened, then why would Neji take Tenten for a three hour trip, missing the best party ever?'_

It still didn't make sense. Ino had confronted Neji when she dropped by the Hyuuga Manor earlier. He had said nothing, showed nothing, and if it was even possible for Neji, thought about nothing. She knew that it would be hard getting information out of Tenten—but she didn't think that it'll be _this _hard.

When Ino looked back at Tenten, she found her still staring at the plant behind her. Ino groaned, slamming her hands down on the table as she slouched down in her seat. Tenten seemed to have responded to that—she blinked a couple of times before looking at Ino. Kairi grinned, finding it amusing that Tenten finally coming back to her senses.

"Finally!" Ino said, tapping her fingers on the table. "We don't we lost you to your fantasy world," she said, narrowing her eyes at Tenten, who just grinned sheepishly. "Now, are you going to tell us what happened or do we have to beat it out of you?"

Tenten rolled her eyes, knowing that the threat was empty. "I can't tell you guys what happened—," she stopped, knowing that she had slipped up. She started slowly, trying to figure out what words to use, "because… nothing happened," she finished lamely, playing around with her croissant.

Ino had dragged her out of the house before she had a chance to get out of bed. While she was brushing her teeth, Ino had stormed into the bathroom, shoving clothes onto Tenten's body. Thankfully, Tenten kicked Ino out of the bathroom before she did anymore damage to her pride. I mean, did she really need to have Ino change her own clothes _for _her?

"Oh yeah," Kairi rolled her eyes. "Don't think we'll stop asking after that excuse."

Tenten sighed. "Can't you guys just drop it? I told you before and I'm telling you now—nothing happened when Neji and I went up to that friggin mountain!"

Kairi and Ino widened their eyes at Tenten. They didn't say anything (or even moved) for a few seconds before they both blinked and processed the information to their heads. Tenten groaned, mentally smacking herself as she thought back to what she had said.

'_Why, oh why did I make that slip-up? Now they'll know that that's the place where Neji took Sakura and I'll be forced to explain what happened…' _Tenten groaned once again as she pushed the croissant away.

Ino smiled, and then squealed as Kairi just grinned. "Oh my god! That's the place Neji took Sakura!"

"So," Kairi asked, eyeing the piece of croissant that Tenten pushed away. "Did he ask you to be his girlfriend?"

Tenten looked confused. "No," she said. "Why would he?" She saw Kairi eyeing the croissant, and pushed it towards her. Kairi smiled happily as she ate it.

"Because that's where Neji asked Sakura," Ino explained as she took a sip of her coffee. "Or, at least that's where I think he asked her. She said something about a mountain," Ino said, shrugging."

"Are you sure he didn't ask you?" Kairi asked, a little muffled through her croissant.

Tenten shook her head. She thought that he would, when he first brought her there. I mean, why would a guy bring a girl to a dang mountain if he wasn't planning to make it as a date and ask her to be his girlfriend? That just doesn't make sense.

But apparently, there were a million of different reasons as to why a guy would bring a girl out to a mountain in the middle of the night, on the night of the biggest party ever, hosted by one of her best friends. Yeah, there were millions.

Like this one: he could bring her up there to explain the relationship between his ex. Oh yeah, everyone loved to hear that story from the guy/girl that he/she likes.

"Well, why would he bring her up there if he didn't ask her to be his girlfriend?" Ino asked, not getting it. "That makes no sense."

'_Exactly what I was thinking,' _Tenten thought grimly.

"So, what did he bring you up there for?" Kairi asked, polishing the croissant off.

"Well…" Tenten said, debating on the fact if she should tell them or not. Neji didn't actually tell her not to tell anyone… but even though he didn't say anything, she still felt like she shouldn't say anything. Did that even make sense?

Kairi and Ino looked expectantly at Tenten, who was looking even more nervous by the second. She sighed deeply as she looked at them in defeat. "Fine, I'll tell you guys…" She muttered. "He took me up there… to tell me what happened between him and Sakura…"

-

"_Why would you bring me to a place where you met Sakura…?" Tenten asked, looking confused._

"_I asked her to be my girlfriend three weeks later," Neji continued on, ignoring what Tenten had said. She glared at him for that, but didn't interrupt, seeing as though she was going to get ignored anyways._

"_You're probably thinking that it was a fast relationship, since we only met three weeks before we got together," he said, touching a snowy leaf. "But something about her felt right. Something… that I felt with you," he said, looking at Tenten._

_She immediately turned to another direction, her face getting redder by the second. 'Is he telling me how it feels? Is he asking me to be his girlfriend?! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HE DOING?'_

_She heard him sigh, and the snow crunched under his shoes as he sat on a snow covered log. She slowly turned around to look at him, to find out that he was looking at the city lights once again. She walked slowly towards him, and sat down next to him._

"_She was only a year younger than me," he said quietly, after a few minutes of silence. "She went to the same school as the Uchiha prodigy," he said with a smirk. "We weren't on such good terms back then," he said, referring to Sasuke, "but Sakura made us become friends with each other…" he said, quietly._

"_Seems like Sakura made quite an impact on your life…" Tenten mumbled to herself, drawing random lines on the snow._

"_I remember that she was lost—and I was up here enjoying the view. I… I just can't explain what I felt when I got to know her," he said, starting to get quieter with each word. "When we finally got together, Uchiha was pissed." He said, at his normal voice again._

"_Everyday I saw him when I was with Sakura, he glared at me. She didn't notice though—and I was glad she didn't. I knew that she was head over heels in love with him before I came along. I had no idea why he didn't get together with her if he liked her back," Neji said, looking down at his cold hands._

"_I'm guessing you heard what happened to Sakura when she was alone with Sasuke at that party," he said, not looking at Tenten. "He tried to kiss her, and take advantage of her when I wasn't there," he had said this calmly, with just a bit of irritation. "I was furious at him. And Sakura was even angrier."_

_He looked up at the night sky, reminiscing the memories of the three. "We had the greatest times together."_

_Tenten didn't say a word to interrupt him. What could she say, anyways? It wasn't in her place to tell him what she thought (okay, maybe she could, but she didn't have the guts). Plus, Neji probably wouldn't appreciate being interrupted._

"_But then… problems started to happen," Neji said. "She seemed tired every time we were together, and she always seemed distracted. It's as if her body was there, but her mind was never. I confronted her on what happened," he said, drawing something in the snow. "But that was the worst thing I could've done. She said that nothing happened, and I got angry, thinking that she was lying. She got angry at me, because I wouldn't believe her," Neji paused, taking a quick glance at Tenten to see if she was bored. "It was a stupid fight," he said. "And it was also our first big one."_

_Tenten looked at Neji questioningly. "I thought that you guys were the perfect couple," she said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice._

_Neji didn't seem to catch that sarcasm, however. "Yeah, well, even the perfect couples have their fights."_

"_Wait—I thought you said that was your first fight. You guys fought before?" Tenten asked with a confused expression._

"_It __**was **__our first real fight," Neji said. "Or at least, I thought it was. We had little arguments before, but it wasn't as big as this one." He said. "No one figured out that we had had arguments when we were alone. Apparently, to them, we seemed like we were the 'perfect couple'," he said quietly. "I thought so too, but then Sakura thought otherwise."_

"_What happened?" Tenten asked. She knew that she didn't have to ask, since he was going to tell her anyways, but she felt the need to._

"_After that fight… she didn't talk to me for two weeks. I don't think that she talked to anyone…" Neji said. "The girls grew suspicious, and Uchiha still gave me those hate glare," Neji said, with a small smirk when he mentioned Sasuke. "I tried calling her, but her phone's always off. No one would pick up her home phone, and she never came back to school. It was like she never existed."_

"_So after those two weeks… She left?" Tenten guessed._

_Neji nodded. "We finally had the guts to visit her house. But then guess what?" Tenten didn't answer, knowing that it was a rhetorical question. "The house was already sold, and the new owners told us that they moved to America. 'We had just missed them', they said," Neji said, with a bitter look on his face._

"_Wow…" was all Tenten could say. It's not like she knew what else to say. She knew that if she said something else, Neji would take it the wrong way. "So… what did you guys do after that?" Tenten asked._

"_We were all furious. At least, some of us were. The girls thought she had a perfectly good explanation for not telling us something important like that. So they still had hope after three weeks of no information, or contact. 'She needs more time,' they said," Neji paused as he played with the snow. "Time my ass. I'm her fucking boyfriend, and she didn't even say anything to me," he chuckled darkly. "I guess you could say that I was a wreck. Her sudden… disappearance," Neji said, slowly, as if he didn't know what to call her departure, "made me feel like I was worthless. What was I to her if I couldn't even be trusted to be told what happened?"_

"_You shouldn't feel that way!" Tenten shouted, a sudden burst of energy exploded inside her when she heard that. "Maybe something happened to her and she was… worried about what you would say!"_

"_I'm her fucking boyfriend!" Neji shouted back. "Do you know how ashamed I was when everyone asked me what happened to her? I couldn't even answer that damn question… why should I be called her boyfriend when I can't answer that?"_

_Tenten sighed. "Why do you guys all think like that…?" She muttered to herself. "Why would you think that?! If everyone else didn't know, shouldn't you feel relieved? That means that you're still her boyfriend to her, and she doesn't hold anyone else higher than you!"_

"_But that also means I'm on the same level as everyone else—"_

"_SO WHAT? Get over it Neji! It's been a few months already! Get over the past and look forward to the future! Stop fucking sulking over something like that!"_

_It's easy for you to say! Have you lost anyone that you've loved?!"_

_Tenten fell silent. She knew that she didn't, and Neji knew as well. So there was no point in lying if she did. "No, I didn't," she said calmly. Neji was about to say something before she interrupted him. "So what? What if I never felt the feeling of losing someone? Is that your way of saying that I can't feel? I bet you've never felt the feeling of no one every wanting you. Have you ever felt that?" Tenten retorted back, glaring at Neji._

_Neji didn't say anything at first, but then he spoke up. "I didn't," he said quietly, as he stood up. Tenten stood up slowly with him, a bit confused as to why he's standing. "I'm sorry," he apologized, looking at Tenten. "I let my anger take over me," he said, as he started walking down the mountain. "Let's get you to that party," he said._

_Tenten followed him slowly, thoughts racing through her head. "It feels painful," Tenten said, as she walked behind Neji, "when I see you brooding over what happened."_

* * *

"Tch," Ino said, looking at an over priced dress. "This does not work," she mumbled to herself as she threw it behind her.

"Hey!" Kairi shouted, glaring at Ino as she dodged the flying dress. "At least put it down instead of throwing it!"

Ino rolled her eyes as she looking through more racks of outrageously priced dresses. Tenten sighed as she observed the two from the side. They had been going to more than twenty shops already, and Ino couldn't make a decision on what kind of dress she wanted.

"Too small. Too big. Too long. Too short! Do you _think _I'm a hooker?!"

She had been hearing that ever since they left the café where Tenten was telling them what had happened. They didn't say anything except give her sympathetic looks. And after that, they dragged her away, trying to get her mind off of the negative thoughts. Though, she knew they would be talking it over together with Hinata. Hinata had declined on the invitation to the mall today—for reasons the three did not know why.

"Tenten! Get over here! Don't think anymore! Just look at clothes!" Ino shouted at Tenten, with her hands on her hips.

Tenten rolled her eyes as she gave Ino a mock smile, "Yes, mother."

Ino glared at Tenten, but had a smile on her face. "Let's go shopping then!"

Tenten didn't want to ruin that smile Ino had on her face (more like she didn't want to face the wrath of Ino's anger), so she kept the sentence, "We're already shopping…" to herself.

* * *

"I am so tired!" Kairi complained, as they sat on a bench in front of the mall. She rubbed her feet as she sighed.

"That was so fun," Ino gushed, as she grinned at all her shopping bags. Then she frowned. "We should've asked the guys to come… then we wouldn't be this tired from carrying our own bags," Ino said with a sigh as she leaned back on to the bench.

Tenten rolled her eyes as she put her chin in the palm of her hand. She stared off, deep in her thoughts.

"Oh my god," she heard Kairi say. "I'm tired enough, why the hell did those girls have to come now?!"

Tenten turned to look at Kairi, who looked exasperated. She then looked at Ino, who rolled her eyes. Tenten looked ahead for herself, to see what Kairi had meant.

'_Where have I seen those girls before…?' _Tenten thought, as those three familiar looking girls approach Tenten.

"Tenten," a _really _familiar high pitched voice greeted.

'_Oh god. It's them again.'_

* * *

_Reviewers:D_

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-

Yes, I think there is something definitely wrong with me and two months xD It's finally August! The month of my birthday, lols. Well _anyways_, sorry I got this out so late.. I'm just. Distracted, lately… cause every time I try to finish this chapter, I'm always distracted by other things xD and since I have summer school… yeahhh…

Just check out my profile from time to time xD

**Please review(:**


	29. Jan 1 & 2, Mon & Tues

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Fourteen & Day Fifteen_

**Chapter Twenty-Nine—**Replay

After a few minutes of staring and glaring, Tenten finally realized who the girls were. Her mouth formed an 'o' shape when realization hit her. She grinned mockingly at them, "What? No more 'he-she's'?"

Sanmi glared at her, and was about to retort something, before Ayama stepped in. "So, I see that you've forgotten about out little deal," she said with a hint of irritation. She glared at Tenten, waiting for her to say something.

Tenten looked just as confused as ever. "…Deal?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Kin glared at Tenten. "Yes. The _deal_."

"You say it like it's so important," Tenten said rolling her eyes.

"It is important!" Sanmi and her high pitched voice came back.

"Uh… we'll… go get some ice cream," Kairi said, raising a brow at Tenten. "We'll get you one too," she said hurriedly, pulling Ino away, who was mouthing, 'you better tell us what happened'.

Tenten waved bye before turning back to the three girls. "Well… if it was so important, then why don't I remember it…?" Tenten asked absentmindedly, as she stared off behind Ayama.

Ayama glared at Tenten once again when she found out that she wasn't even fully interested in the conversation. She stepped closer to Tenten and glared with full hatred. Tenten raised a brow, her attention finally snapping to Ayama.

"Okay, yeah, personal space please?" Tenten said dryly.

"Look here bitch," Ayama said in a hard voice. Tenten raised her eyebrow at her choice of language, "I have no intention of being a female dog," she said sarcastically, looking lazily at Ayama.

"Enough of your wise cracks," Kin said, narrowing her eyes at Tenten. "We've had enough of your spending time with Neji."

"Shut up Kin," Ayama said, turning around and glaring at Kin, "Let me talk."

Tenten grinned as she watched Kin glare at Ayama when she turned back to Tenten. She glared at Tenten when she caught her looking, and looked down at the floor. Ayama stomped her foot when she found out she didn't have Tenten's attention.

"Since you forgot about our little deal, let me refresh your memory," Ayama said as she paced in front of Tenten. She sighed as she stared off into space. "You agreed that if you stayed away from Neji, then we wouldn't cause you trouble. Now," she stopped pacing, and stepped closer to Tenten, who inched back from the closeness, "you haven't been really keeping up your end of the deal, have you?"

Tenten raised a brow. "Now, if I remembered _such _an important deal, I would have. Is it my fault you can't keep things interesting enough for me to remember?"

Ayama glared as she straightened up her posture. "God, you are such a bitch."

"There goes with the female dog again…" Tenten said with a sigh.

Ayama chose to ignore the sentence. "It doesn't matter if you don't remember," she said, as she started pacing in front of her again. "All that matters is that you haven't been keeping up the deal. So, in return," she stopped and grinned wickedly at Tenten, "we can't keep up with our end of the deal, either."

Tenten looked at Ayama. "So what?"

Ayama kept closing in on Tenten, until their faces were inches apart. "So now, prepare to meet hell."

She leaned back, and smiled happily (or so it seems) to herself. She grinned at the other two. "Come on; let's leave Tenten back to her shopping!"

Tenten rolled her hands into a fist. She had enough problems already – she didn't need some wannabe slut threatening her on making her life hell. She was confused all day, and she didn't another problem to piss her off.

'_Alright,' _Tenten thought, glaring holes into Ayama's back, _'we'll handle this the easy way. I just hope I won't get into a lot of trouble for this…'_

"Hey!" Tenten called out, catching Ayama's attention. She turned around with the same sickening smile of hers.

"Yes, Tenten?" She said sweetly.

Tenten got off the bench, and walked up to her. "You know, since you've been so _nice _to me, explaining what the deal was, let me give you a little thank you present," Tenten said, giving her the same smile she pasted on her face.

Ayama's smile disappeared, and her expression was replaced with a glare. "And that is…?"

Tenten smirked, and showed her fist. "Thank you so much, Ayama."

And before she could say anything, Ayama was knocked out with only one punch to the eyes. Sanmi gasped, and Kin went to help Ayama up from the floor. Ayama glared at Tenten, with her right hand holding onto her eye.

"You fucking bitch!" She screeched, clutching her eye.

"Aw, now, holding it isn't going to make it much better," Tenten said in the same tone Ayama had used on her before.

Ayama screamed out in frustration as she got up. She tried clawing her way at Tenten, but Tenten kept dodging. And before she knew it, all four girls had found themselves in a catfight.

* * *

"Aw fucking hell," Tenten muttered to herself as she dragged her feet towards the Hyuuga Manor.

She had ran away when someone had shouted out, "Police!" She felt bad that she ditched Kairi and Ino, but hey, what was she suppose to do? Stick around and get caught? No way in hell. Hopefully they'll understand when they find her gone with her shopping bags.

Yes, in the midst of it all, Tenten had still remembered her bags. It wasn't that hard—I mean, there were only two bags.

"Ugh, stupid nails," Tenten muttered again, touching the scratched part of her face.

Before she could've blocked the attack, Sanmi had latched onto her and scratched her face with her manicured nails, and Kin kicked her in the shin, which by the way, was going to leave a nasty bruise. She had been too busy fending off Ayama to see any of the other two's attack coming.

"I hope no one asks about this…" Tenten grumbled as she walked inside the Hyuuga Manor.

She looked both ways before walking up the long flight of stairs. Tenten was just about halfway up the stairs when she saw Hinata coming down. She immediately turned around in an attempt to hide herself, but she knew that Hinata had already seen her.

"Tenten?" Hinata questioned, getting closer to her.

In an attempt to avoid looking at Hinata in the face, Tenten started walking down the stairs. "Uh, yes, Hinata?"

"Why are you going down when you're coming u-up…?" She asked, as she tried to catch up with Tenten.

And that only made Tenten walk down the stairs faster. "Uh… I just forgot something downstairs! Yeah, when I saw you, I remembered it…" Tenten lied lamely.

Before Hinata could question her again, however, the front door opened and Neji stepped in. Tenten cursed silently to herself when she found out that he was walking up the stairs. She bit her lip as she cursed to herself once again. She was trapped both ways, and Hinata was coming down at a rather rapid speed.

"Shit, shit, shit," Tenten muttered to herself.

She suddenly had an idea. She walked to the banister, and pretended she was looking down at the floor, avoiding Neji's and Hinata's faces. She knew that Hinata was close to her, and she prayed that Neji would hurry up with his walk.

'_Goddamnit, how long does it take for him to walk!?' _Tenten thought, crying to herself in her head. As soon as Neji past her, Tenten hurriedly tried to walk past him.

"What happened to your face?" Neji asked, his deep voice stopping Tenten.

It was only yesterday since she had heard him speak to her, but it felt so long. Tenten bit her lip, wondering why she wouldn't move. She sighed as she looked at Neji from the corner of her eye. He was looking straight ahead, and Tenten wondered how he saw her cuts.

'_Damn him!' _She cried to herself. "Uh… I tripped… and fell?" She lied, scratching her head.

"Tenten!" Hinata shouted.

"Aw frick," Tenten said to herself softly, though she wasn't sure if Neji heard it or not. She looked back, and saw that she was only steps away from Neji and herself. "I uh… have to go to the supermarket!" She said, leaving her bags on the stairs. She flew out of the Manor before Hinata could've caught up to her.

Neji raised a brow, looking at the open door. Hinata was confused as she tried to regain her breath from walking the stairs. "N-Neji-niisan," she greeted him.

Neji nodded at her, and resumed his walk up the stairs. Hinata looked helplessly at Neji, and sighed. She picked up Tenten's shopping bags and started walking to Tenten's room.

* * *

"That was so close!" Tenten said breathlessly to herself, as she slumped down on a bench.

She tilted her head to the sky, and closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths and sighed. As soon as she regained her breath, she opened her eyes. She sat there for a few minutes before hearing her stomach growl.

Tenten sighed as she got up from the bench. She checked her wallet if she had enough money—thank goodness she did too, because she was getting hungry. Sticking her hands into her pocket, she walked down to the supermarket that was a block away.

She bit her lip as she thought back to the events that happened at the mall. She didn't mean for a fight that big to happen. She didn't even think that they would've fought back!

Tenten sighed as she stepped into the heated supermarket. The fresh smell of vegetables reached her nose, and she felt a need to sneeze. It wouldn't come though, and she hated that feeling. She sighed as she walked quickly to the packaged junk food aisle.

As she was picking her choice of chips, something caught her eye. She looked to her left, and saw someone who looked familiar. It was a girl—she looked the same age as her, possibly even younger. She was a bit shorter than Tenten, and had on glasses. Tenten narrowed her eyes at her as she stared at her picking cookies.

'_Where have I seen her before…?' _Tenten looked at the chips she had in her hand, and looked back at the girl. She had already disappeared though—and Tenten still couldn't figure out where she had seen her before. _'She looks so familiar…' _Tenten thought to herself as she walked to the check out line.

'_This is going to keep me up all night…'_

* * *

"Hi Tenten!" Ino shouted a little too happily, as she sat down next to her in the cafeteria.

School resumed from vacation once again, and everyone had been dreading it. Hearing Ino so happy sparked an interest in Tenten. Tenten nodded to Ino, not wanting to say anything. Ino raised a brow at Kairi, and Kairi shrugged. "She was like this the whole day," Kairi whispered to Ino. "All… silent…"

Ino sighed as she stared at Tenten for a few seconds. "Is it that time of month?" Ino grumbled, opening her packaged lunch. Kairi grinned. "I think it is," she agreed.

"Okay, so enough of that!" Ino shouted, making Tenten raise a brow at her. "Why are you so happy so early in the morning?" Tenten grumbled, propping up her chin with the palm of her hand.

"Oh Tenten," Ino said, grinning at her. "It's nearly twelve o'clock, and you're still sleepy!" Ino grinned once again. Tenten narrowed her eyes at her as she faced a different direction. "Oh, none of that glaring!" Ino said, glaring at Tenten.

Kairi snickered as she drank her milk. "You just totally contradicted yourself," Kairi said with a silly grin.

"Shut up, milk moustache man!" Ino said, also glaring at Kairi. "Okay, like I said, enough of that!" She said quickly, before Kairi could retort back. "It's almost February!" She sang, grinned at the three girls that sat around the table.

"So what?" Kairi asked with her mouth full.

Ino cringed in disgust, "SWALLOW before you talk," she rolled her eyes. "There's no 'so what?' when we talk about February!" Ino shouted. "It's time for the sweetheart dance!" She said excitedly.

Tenten sat up straight, paying close attention to what Ino had just said. "Sweetheart dance?" She questioned Ino.

She nodded excitedly. "It's where sweethearts gather at a dance!"

Kairi scoffed and rolled her eyes. "No shit Sherlock."

Ino glared at Kairi before ignoring what she said. "Well, every year, it's held on February 13th. The school thought that if they hold it on the 14th, no one would show up because they're too busy celebrating," Ino said, rolling her eyes. "Last year, the best couple winner got free tickets to a sauna!" Ino squealed.

"Wow," Kairi said dryly. "It's like they're promoting to have sex!" She said sarcastically.

Hinata smiled, "D-Don't think like that, Kairi," she said softly.

"Yeah!" Ino said, grinning at Kairi. "Don't think like that, Kairi," she said with a smile at Hinata.

"Oh please," Kairi rolled her eyes.

"So, what do they win this year?" Tenten asked.

Ino shrugged. "It's a mystery each year," she said. "But don't get your hopes up. Some years, they have really crappy prizes too," Ino said with a sigh. "They think that it will teach us a lesson and that it isn't all about the prize," she said, as she rolled her eyes.

"Sounds fun," Tenten muttered to herself.

"It really is," Ino said with a bubbly sigh (which made Kairi gag).

"So, you're going with Shikamaru?" Tenten asked, poking around in her salad.

"Yeah. You should go with Neji," Ino said with a wink.

"…like that's going to happen," Tenten muttered to herself.

Thank God Ino had already disappeared into her love-sick world.

-

"Man, why did she have to be so boring…?" Tenten muttered to herself as she put her books into her locker.

She fell asleep in her last class, resulting in her lateness to get home. Nearly everyone in the school had left already, and her friends probably left, also. She had already told them to go home without her, since she wanted some alone time after school.

She knew that they knew that something was up—but she also knew that they didn't want to bring it up. She would usually tell them what was happening, but this time, she felt like she needed to keep to herself. Even though they would've smacked her when they found out in some way, but she just needed to handle this problem herself.

Problem meaning, the girls that were standing right behind her.

"What do you want," Tenten said, clearly not in the mood to deal with them.

They sensed it too, and that got them angrier. "Well," Ayama said, straining the word to make sure that Tenten understood it. "We have a little problem with you."

"Oh really?" Tenten answered back absentmindedly.

"You're not going to ask what it is?"

"I'm sure you would tell me either way."

Ayama growled angrily. "Well," she said, straining that word once again. "Since you horribly punched me, I thought I'd give you a chance to apologize for it."

Tenten stopped her book switching and turned around slowly. "What the hell are you talking about?"

All three smirked at her. "We're talking about saying sorry," Sanmi said, her high pitched voice not getting any lower. "And people call us dumb," Sanmi said, laughing at her own joke.

Tenten sarcastically smiled at her. "Oh, that's so funny," she said dryly. "Why would I apologize for something that I intend to do?"

"Because," Ayama said, pausing. "If you don't, I'll tell Tsunade-sama, and I'm sure you'll get kicked out of school for sure. And you wouldn't want to be sent further away from Neji-kun, now would you?" Ayama asked, smiling sweetly at her.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Please, if you can't smile, don't smile at all. Just looking at you makes me want to throw up."

Ayama's smile disappeared, and she glared at her. "Well, are you going to apologize or not?"

"For what?"

"Hitting us!" Sanmi screeched, getting angrier by the second that Tenten couldn't grasp the idea.

"I'm sorry," Ayama looked like she won the Nobel prize with that smile of hers. It soon disappeared when Tenten finished her sentence: "What are you talking about? I don't see any bruises or scratches on you. But do you see any on mine? Oh what's this? Yeah, I have a bloody scratch on mine," Tenten said with a bored gaze.

Ayama glared. "Well, all we have to do is wipe off our make up and then you'll be expelled for sure!"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Why would Tsunade-sama believe you? I have scratches too—I can easily say that you started it first."

"Because! You have a record for fights," Sanmi interrupted with a smile on her face.

Ayama glared at Sanmi. "Shut up," she said coldly. She looked at Kin, who seemed afraid and shaking. She looked different from yesterday… "Kin, get Sanmi the hell out of here. I don't need troublesome brats to interrupt me."

Kin nodded, and quickly dragged Sanmi out, talking to her in a hushed voice. Ayama turned back to Tenten with a sly smile.

"Or," Tenten said slowly, "I could just say that you threatened me first. Now, that isn't a lie at all, now is it?"

Ayama glared at Tenten. "Like I said. Who would believe you?"

Tenten glared at Ayama. She had nothing else to say, and Ayama knew it. She had her right where she wanted her. "You see Tenten," Ayama said, with a sinister smile, "I have connections. And if you're not careful, you'll be seeing your death very soon."

Tenten widened her eyes. "You'll go as far as to _kill _me?"

Ayama smiled big. "Oh, who said _I'll _kill you? I never said anything about that," she said. "But you know… well, I don't know when they'll stop, so I can't guarantee that you'll still be alive when they're through with you," she said with a big smile.

Tenten narrowed her eyes. "What the fuck are you saying?"

"Oh, and you say that **I** curse a lot," she rolled her eyes.

"I never said that," Tenten said, glaring at her. "Are you planning on threatening me? And you'll even get people to _kill _me?"

"Oh, so you **are **as smart as they say," she said with fake cheerfulness.

Tenten stayed silent, staring at Ayama's fake smile. "What do you want from me…" She whispered.

Ayama's smile disappeared and was replaced by a mean one. "Oh, now you're talking," she brushed her hair out of her face. "I'm not asking for much. Just… a few requests…" She said with a sly smile.

Tenten narrowed her eyes at her.

'_And now I'm making a deal with the devil.'_

* * *

_Reviewers:D_

Lyris88** ll** xmarachanx **ll** ifItwasnt4KakashiIwouldLoveYou **ll** _Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei _**ll** animegirl9989 **ll** foxflyer **ll** Mai-'-Kawaii-'-Ai **ll** Chigiri Sasaki **ll** _Hina _**ll** MissBrown22241 **ll** _dianalovely1995_

-

YAY I didn't take two months to update this time(: I just had nothing to do, so I decided to work on this chapter xD Don't expect one to come out again this fast :D Cause it'll never happen again… I think o.o

One more day and summer school is over(: YAY I cannot wait;)

Since I am extremely bored right now, why don't you all answer my question of the day:D Where are you guys from? xD Like, just give me country or whatever. I'm just curious, lols. Well, I'll answer too – I'm from the U.S. :)

Ohhhh, have you guys seen the Olympics too? xD Gooo U.S.A. ! :D Though I'm rooting for China too;) Lolls.

**Lalala I'm reviewin' it**_**  
**__Get it? I'm lovin' it? I'm reviewin' it? Lol; do you not get my joke? :O_


	30. Jan 9, Tues

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Twenty-two_

**Warning  
**_Language_

**Chapter Thirty—**Disturbia

"_I'm alright."_

"_Come on Tenten—I know you better than that. We all do! What's wrong?"_

"_I told you before and I'm telling you now. Nothing's wrong!"_

"_If nothing was wrong, then why don't you come home? Why are you always outside, doing god-knows-what?"_

"_Home?"_

"_Yes! The Hyuuga Manor __**is**__ your home, whether you like it or not! Hinata's worried about you, and frankly, I think Neji think that something's up. Why aren't you ever around anymore? What did Ayama say to make you stay out all the time?"_

"_She said __**nothing**__. Just drop it, okay? It's not like I never go back."_

"_Why don't you ever say it, Tenten?"_

"_Say what?"_

"_Home. You never call the Hyuuga Manor your home! I don't think that I've ever used that word to describe any of the other places you've been to."_

"_Then maybe it may not be my home."_

"_What the hell does that—Tenten? Tenten?"_

* * *

It's been a week already. Like Tenten thought—her threats had been nothing. It had already been a week, and there were no signs of anyone coming at her with weapons, wanting to beat her up. Well, truthfully speaking, Tenten _was _a bit scared when Ayama mentioned that she knew connections and that they would kill her if they went too far.

Wouldn't anyone else be scared? Even if she did know how to fight, she knew that Ayama wouldn't act stupid and send only one person to do the job. They would be coming in large numbers—that she was sure of.

Tenten sighed as she stretched. She had been sitting on the same bench for half an hour, not knowing where to go. It had been a habit to do that these days – she had been doing the same thing for a week. Everyday at the same time, she would sit on the same bench for an hour or two, just thinking about the things she screwed up in her past.

Tenten sighed once again. Her stomach grumbled as she looked on her watch. Just on time.

She got up, and started heading towards the supermarket. That was also been another habit developed last week. Ever since the confrontation with Ayama, Tenten has been avoiding to stay at the Hyuuga Manor for the whole day. So everyday, she would wander around the city, looking for things to do. Money was also a problem, since she was constantly buying herself things to eat, seeing as though she doesn't go back to the Hyuuga Manor to eat.

"I think I'm putting on a pound or two…" Tenten said absentmindedly to herself.

She sighed once again, as she entered the cold supermarket. Heading down to the aisle she went to everyday, she looked out for the same familiar girl she kept seeing at the supermarket. It was rather weird—at the same time, at the same aisle, Tenten would always see a glimpse of a girl who seemed familiar to her. She knew that she had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Maybe she was just being paranoid, since the girl might just be like Tenten—no where to go, and nothing to do. But Tenten was sure that the girl was watching her. She always felt like she was being watched when she walked into the supermarket.

Okay, so maybe she really was paranoid. She grabbed a random bag of chips, and headed for the check out line. Looking around the aisle once more, she let out a sigh of relief. She didn't see the girl today, and she didn't know why she was relieved because of that.

Before she reached the check out lines, she bumped into a girl who looked around her age. Her chips fell to the ground, and the girl's beanie fell. Tenten looked up, muttering a quick, "Sorry," but the words died in her mouth.

It was the same girl she had seen throughout the whole week. She was pretty sure of it. Even though she couldn't see the girl's face since she was on the floor looking for her beanie. Once she found it, she quickly got up and walked (more like ran) to the exit.

Tenten was confused as she stood up, grabbing her chips from the floor. She seemed oblivious to the people shopping around her, and she couldn't hear the shouts of angry women fighting over a can of pickles. All she was doing was staring after the girl.

Someone accidentally pushed her, and she snapped out of it. She looked around to see who had pushed her, but no one apologized to her, nor was anyone around her. She finally came to her senses as she dropped the bag of chips on the floor, and ran after the girl. All week, she had been confused. All week, she had been pissed. All week, she had been stressed and annoyed.

And she was finally going to solve one of her problems.

-

Tenten continued running after the girl, even though she wasn't sure where she ran off to. Tenten knew that she was a bit rusty from not exercising the whole week, but she wasn't that slow in running. After a few more minutes in her run, Tenten finally spotted the girl again. She was talking to some men in black, but other than that, she seemed completely normal. Tenten slowed down, and hid behind a store to hear what they were talking about.

"…so I need you guys to get her when she's walking out," Tenten heard the girl said.

'_Weird,' _Tenten thought to herself as she bit her lip. _'Even her voice sounds familiar.' _Tenten took a deep breath and looked around her. She was hiding behind a store in a neighborhood she had never seen before. _'This isn't good…' _She thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes. _'I better not get found out…'_

"But this was not what we were ordered to do—"

"Okay, who the fuck cares? I want that face of hers to look like hell, and I don't fucking care if you guys were ordered to do that or not. Is she here right now? No. I don't think so. And she put **me **in charge of you guys, so you better shut the fuck up and do what I tell you to do."

"Fucking PMSing…" Tenten heard one of the men mutter under his breath.

"Shut the fuck up," she snapped. "Okay, so she's probably still at the supermarket. Don't act fucking suspicious, or else the supermarket guards will come after you or something. Pretend you're buying something, and when you see her, get her."

Tenten held her breath as she wanted for more instructions from the psychotic girl. When she heard none, she started to panic. There was no sound except for movements, and her eyes quickly darted from left to right. She had no idea where she was, and she was sure that she would be found out if she didn't move and hide herself.

So she did the only thing she could do.

The only thing that gave away that she was listening in on their plan.

She ran.

-

Tenten didn't know if they heard her running or not, and she wasn't planning on looking back to find out. She didn't hear any footsteps in back of her though – but the silence could be deceiving. She wasn't taking the chance of stopping and hiding, since that was almost like a suicidal move for her.

She paused for a moment, waiting for the light to change back to walk. She looked behind her, making sure that no one was chasing after her. She smiled in relief, as she slumped against the pole. She breathed hard, in and out, blowing at her bangs as she closed her eyes.

Before she could open her eyes however, she felt a hard grip on her shoulder. Her eyes flew open in shock, and she stared at one of the men in black who she saw talking with the psycho girl. She bit her lip hard, as she saw the man smirk at her.

He had on sunglasses, so Tenten had no idea how he looked like. His grip was like iron on her shoulder, and she couldn't twist out of it. Not like she tried, anyways, since the rest of his goons were making a circle around her.

"Uhm," Tenten gulped, not knowing how to get out of this situation. It was like all her nightmares coming alive, and getting her. Well, if she had any nightmares, at least. "Hi?"

"Hello," he said in a deep voice, smirking at her again.

An odd silence followed, and Tenten looked around nervously. He still hadn't removed his tight grip on her, and he didn't seem to be making any move to punch the hell out of her. Tenten took a deep breath, and took an unnecessary risk.

"So!" She said with a bright smile. "I apologize for what I'm about to do."

He raised as eyebrow, and before he could tighten his grip on her (if that's even possible), she kicked him in his family jewels, and ran.

And so, let the chase begin.

* * *

Tenten was never the runner. She hated running, as much as she hated her first foster family. Which was a lot of hate. Running never appealed to her – it was just a fast version of walking, so why did everyone go crazy over it?

But even though she hated running, she _had _to run. Situations like this forced her to become a good runner, since they happened once in a while. Well, they happened most of the time when she moved to a new foster home.

There was that time where she was almost beaten up by her foster brother for making fun of his sister – but it really wasn't Tenten's fault, really. I mean, who _wouldn't _make fun of a girl with a disproportionate face? I mean, if you had an ugly face, you'd at least have a good personality. But she didn't have a good personality, either. It stank like her body odor, and Tenten really, really hated her.

So, as a result of that poorly made decision to insult his sister, she was running for her life all over the neighborhood. And as a result for hating running – she didn't see daylight for about a week. And well, that resulted her to moving into another foster home. But that's another story for another time.

And because of all those sticky situations, Tenten was somehow forced to take track and field during her middle school years. She opposed against it, resisted, and even nearly punched the coach for making her run five miles every day with pain sickening stretches. No one really got _why _she _had _to take it, because it was a voluntarily choice if you wanted to take track and field. And Tenten hadn't bother explaining why she hated it, and yet still took it. It was too much of a bother.

'_But thank god I took track and field,' _Tenten thought to herself, as she continued running from the freaky men in black. _'If I hadn't, I'd be dead in the hands of those freaks already.'_

Wondering how long she had to keep running, Tenten foolishly looked back to see if they were close to her. She widened her eyes to see that the distance between them weren't so far. She turned back to the front and groaned to herself.

Pushing herself even further, Tenten sped up in her running. She could hear the men breathe hard, which made Tenten smile. As she ran, she looked at her surroundings, which were becoming familiar. At least she was near what she was familiar with – she could call for help if she couldn't outrun them.

The street light was in the middle of changing, and Tenten was more than twenty steps away from it. Taking the risk, she lunged into the street of traffic, causing the moving cars to beep annoyingly at her. She screamed a couple of, "Sorry's" as she ran faster.

She bumped into a few pedestrians, nearly tripped over a few cracks, and had stepped in two pieces on gum on the ground before colliding and falling on the floor with another person. She fell hard on the ground, which threw her off for a few seconds. She hadn't bother to apologize to the other person or even see who he or she was when she got up and started running again.

But before she could run, the person grabbed her by the elbow.

"Tenten?"

­

* * *

"I'm worried about Tenten," Ino said with a sigh.

"We're all worried about her," Kairi said, rolling her eyes.

Ino glared at Kairi, who was oblivious to the glare. She sat at the café, sipping her drink as she stared out the window. Ino gave up trying to get Kairi's attention as she followed what Kairi did, and stare out the window.

"Hinata said she hasn't been going back to the Hyuuga Manor lately," Ino said with a low voice.

"And when she did, it was late at night, like around midnight. What do you think she was doing that late at night?" Kairi asked, looking at Ino out of the corner of her eye.

Ino widened her eyes. "Kairi! Tenten would never do that! Why would you think that?! That's disgusting!"

Kairi rolled her eyes at Ino and bit into her croissant. "I wasn't thinking that at all, sicko," Kairi said, glaring at Ino. "I just meant, what she could be doing that late at night. Unless she's been hitting clubs and beating up poor pedestrians, there's not much you can do that late at night. I doubt she's been playing hooker these past few nights."

"I doubted that too…" Ino muttered to herself. "So what could she be doing? Is she sitting on the bench like a bum or something? Hinata says that her dad couldn't do anything about Tenten's behavior, because she told him that she would be moving out soon…"

"She's moving out?" Kairi asked, widening her eyes. This was a piece of information that she didn't hear.

Ino shrugged. "I don't really know the details, but I remember Hinata saying that Tenten might be considering moving out. What could make her move out of the house?" Ino sighed. "I wouldn't move out at all, if I was her. I wouldn't do anything at all! I mean, with a life with the Hyuuga's, who in their right mind would move out?"

Kairi sighed. "But I can see this from Tenten's point of view. She probably thought that with the six months time limit on getting a job and moving out, she probably thought that moving out now would be the best thing to do."

"What six months time limit?" Ino asked.

"Hiashi gave her a six months time limit on getting a job and moving out of the house," Kairi explained. "You didn't hear about this?" Ino shook her head.

Kairi sighed, and Ino followed along. "This is so messed up," Ino groaned. "Could she be trying to find a job? Is that why she's always coming home so late? Or maybe she already _has _a job… and she's trying to be discreet about it while she's trying to pack and move out quietly?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Be real, Ino. Why would she do that? Maybe she's trying to find an apartment or something like that."

"Yeah… maybe…" Ino said quietly.

Kairi stared out the window as they both stayed silent. They were both deep in their thoughts, thinking about something. A girl ran by the café window, and a few seconds later, a couple of men ran after her. Kairi widened her eyes as she turned her head with them, staring after them.

"Ino, did you see that?!" Kairi shouted, shaking Ino's arm.

Ino jumped up from her sudden outburst. She pulled her arm back, looking at Kairi with a weird expression. "No… I didn't… What did you see?"

"A girl was being chased by these men," Kairi said, with excitement in her voice. Ino looked at Kairi like she was crazy. Kairi shook her head. "No, that's not what was important about it. I think the girl that I saw was _Tenten_."

"Tenten?"

­

* * *

"Sasuke?" Tenten widened her eyes as she stared at him. "What are you doing out here?"

Sasuke glared at Tenten. "I am still human. I go out every once in a while too, you know." He kept his grip on Tenten, as he raised a brow. "But why were _you _running?" He asked with suspicion in his voice.

Tenten shook off Sasuke's hand on her elbow. She glared at him while she rubbed it. "None of your business," she said, with a highly defensive tone in her voice. She looked past Sasuke to see if the men were still running after her. She could see a glimpse of men, but she wasn't sure if they were the ones who were running after her.

"Who are you looking for?" Sasuke asked again, looking in the direction that Tenten was looking at.

Tenten looked back at Sasuke, glaring at him. "No one. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to run."

"You don't run," Sasuke said bluntly, looking at Tenten with suspicion, once again.

"Yes," Tenten said, stressing the word. "I do. I'm a pretty good runner, too. I'm thinking of joining the track team," at this point, Tenten was just rambling on, to make up for her lie. "but I'm not sure if I'll make it, so I'm just out running for practice."

"You don't need to try out for the track team," Sasuke said. "You can get in without trying out."

"Well," Tenten said, looking past Sasuke, "I feel like practicing." Once she caught sight of them, her eyes widened. "Now uh, if you excuse me, let me go practice!" She turned on her heel and ran, leaving Sasuke stare after her with a confused expression (although he didn't show it).

Not even a few seconds later, a few men ran pass Sasuke, some bumping into him. Sasuke glared at them, as they ran further ahead.

Only a few seconds later did he realize that they were the ones who Tenten were looking for.

* * *

'_Fuck fuck fuck,' _Tenten thought to herself, as she stopped at the end of the sidewalk. She couldn't cross the road – not with that kind of traffic out there. Not to mention, there was a police car weaving in and out of the cars.

She had thought about going to the police to tell them that she was being chased by a couple of men – but they wouldn't believe her, even if the men _did _show up at the police station. It was useless for her to tell them, since they didn't have time to believe "kids like her".

Tenten groaned as she turned around. They were closer now, and she knew that she wasn't going to get out of this. Before she could turn around and run the other way, someone grabbed her from behind and put a cloth over her mouth. Tenten struggled against their strength, but as soon as Tenten smelled the cloth, her eyes started to droop.

And from there on, she slumped down against the girl behind her.

­-

Tenten blinked a few times to get her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the… room. If that was what you could call it, anyways. It was more like a really, really dark basement that resembled a dungeon of some sort… Tenten thought back to what happened before and came to an obvious conclusion: She was kidnapped, and now she was tied to a chair and they were going to beat the hell out of her.

Tenten sighed as she looked around the place. It was mainly empty except for her in the chair in the middle of the basement.

"Finally awake, are you now?" One of the men asked.

Although she couldn't see them, she knew that they were all in the room. Every one of them, with bats and sticks and weapons of some sort. Tenten didn't really know if they had weapons – but if she was right about the beating, then yeah, they probably had weapons with them.

"Yeah," Tenten answered back in her cracked voice.

Hey, if she was going to get beaten up, might as well have some fun with it, right? She heard movement of some sort, but she didn't bother to figure out that they were walking towards her.

"You're extremely confident for knowing that you're going to get beaten up," he said.

Tenten rolled her eyes. So she guessed right. "Well, seeing as how there's no chance I can be saved, nor is there a chance I can get out of this, I might as well have some fun with this. So, would you guys mind telling me if you have weapons in your hands?"

He laughed a big laugh. "Why, yes we do. Did you manage to guess that correctly too?"

Tenten grinned to herself. "Yes, I did."

"Seems like you've been in situations like this a lot of times, kid," he said, kicking the leg of the chair Tenten was sitting on.

She fell backwards to the ground, and she resisted the urge to groan about the pain. She blinked fast, trying to push back the tears that were threatening to come out from the pain. "Well, yeah. When you're me, how can you avoid situations like these?" She said, attempting to joke around with them.

"Heh," he said, kicking the chair again.

She was moved from the center of the room all the way to crashing into the wall. She bit her lip once again to resist the urge to cry. "Is that all you're going to do? Kick me until I lose all of my brain cells?" Tenten asked, her voice cracking. She hated it when she did that. "Because that doesn't seem really fun…"

"Hey guys, she's asking for more," he said, as Tenten heard him move towards her. "You know, you're not making this any fun for **me **if you go along with this willingly. The last girl boss told us to torture screamed and cried from the pain we gave her, so why don't you be a good little girl and do the same thing to satisfy us?"

Tenten laughed. It wasn't a fake laugh either – it was more of a reflex to laugh like that. "God, you make it sound like you guys were raping her. Were her screams and cries _that _much pleasure to you people?"

"Tch," he kicked the chair again, and this time, she banged her head to the wall.

She could feel the blood rush up to her head. Her eyes started to tear up, but she blinked them back. Why she didn't let them out, she didn't know why. It wasn't like they could see it with the whole basement pitch black.

"That's actually a very good idea," he said, walking towards Tenten. "Why don't we rape this girl, and then beat her up?"

Tenten felt like vomiting. She knew she shouldn't have said that… "Hey, don't get too excited," Tenten said. She had more control of her voice now, so there were no cracks in her voice. "Do you know the reason I've only done it _once_?" Tenten asked, trying to make herself sound sad.

"And why would we want to know your stupid reason," he asked, kicking the chair once again. "It's probably cause you weren't that good in bed," the rest of the men laughed as they all took turns kicking the chair.

Tenten counted the number of times her head banged against the wall. It was up to ten when they stopped. "Well, actually, no. I was really good actually," at that line, one of the men snorted. Tenten ignored the laughter that followed along with it, "but the guy who I did it with found out he had STDs. Pity, isn't it? I became the laughing stock of the school so I had to transfer out…"

"I could've guessed someone like you has STDs," he said, kicking the chair horizontally, making it hit the wall to Tenten's right.

And that bang to the wall made the count eleven. Tenten breathed in deeply as she tried to ease the pain from her head. All this head banging against the wall was **not **doing any good for her head. And plus, the clips for her bun had been broken into pieces, leaving her hair all over her face.

"Well, if you guessed it, then you wouldn't have joked around raping me. It's not a good thing to have STDs, you know," Tenten said, taking her lie even further. "You become an outcast, no one likes you, boys are afraid to touch you – hey, but in your case, girls are afraid to touch you! But maybe there won't be a change in that, since you know, girls probably don't touch you as it is—"

He kicked the chair the hardest this time. The chair (and Tenten, since she was sitting on it) flew across the room, hitting the wall and breaking apart. Tenten then hit the wall, and fell on top of the broken chair pieces, which wasn't a really good thing to fall on top of.

"You've gotta learn how to **shut up**, kid," he said, his voice hard. "If you can't shut your mouth, I'd gladly shut it for you." He walked over to Tenten, grabbing her by her hair and pulling her up. "And just for the record, I've slept a lot of girls before."

Tenten snorted, ignoring his first line to her. "Wow, man-slut much?"

He slammed the side of her face on the wall, and kept it there as Tenten cursed in her head. "Now, what did I say about shutting up?"

Tenten was still cursing in her head as she glared down at the floor. A moment of silence passed, and she could feel the man grin. But it turned into a quick frown as Tenten spoke up again. "You know, I can guess who put you up to this."

He narrowed his eyes at her as he dropped Tenten's hair, resulting her to wobble back and forth. "What the fuck are you talking—"

"No, no," Tenten said, cutting him off. She leaned against the wall, looking around the men to make sure she had their attention as she struggled to get the rope that tied her hands together. "You don't have to say it. I already know how she's paying all of you—she's fucking you guys, right?"

"What the fuck are you talking—"

"You know, as in sleeping in bed with you guys. I mean, I can't think of how much money she pays you guys – which probably isn't a lot. So she must be sleeping with you people, right? And _all _of you, for a fact, right?" Tenten asked, still struggling with the rope.

She could somewhat see the man's face burn with embarrassment, as well as the rest of them men. She whistled, and grinned at them, succeeding in taking off the rope. "Wow, I didn't know she was _that _good in bed. Tell me, how long has she been fucking you guys for?"

"Shut the fuck up if you know what's good for you!" He yelled, holding up a fist to punch Tenten.

She grinned at him. Her head was throbbing, and she did **not **need a person yelling at her. Getting her own fists ready, she blocked his hit and punched him in the gut and kneed him where it hurt. He groaned and slumped to the floor.

Tenten looked around at the other men. Her eyes had finally adjusted, and she saw that they were all holding weapons. She grinned sheepishly at them as they closed in on her in a circle.

"Hey, guys, if we're going to fight, at least fight fairly without weapons."

* * *

_Review-ers(:_

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Hey guys(: I took a while to update, didn't I? x.x Ah well; at least it wasn't later :D My apologies on the language in this chapter X; But now that Tenten's oh-so confused, you'll see her curse a lot later on(:

School's being cruel to me): I have a lot of homework nowadays – and since I get home really late, it doesn't help, either. I'll try to update from time to time though! :D I had a lot of fun writing the last scene, so yeah(x And I reward you guys with a long chapter for waiting for me to update(: The kidnapping scene/the basement scene was longer than I expected it to be o.o But I didn't cut it short. :D

**Review(:  
**_Please :D_


	31. Jan 9, Tues Part II

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Twenty-two_

**Chapter Thirty-One—**Strong Baby

"You're really stupid, do you know that?"

He didn't reply as he continued to lean on banister of his balcony. Sasuke glared at his back, even though he knew that he couldn't see it.

"Just go! Why the fuck are you standing there and moping to yourself?" Sasuke asked irritably. "She might be fucking beat up already and you're just standing there and doing nothing for her. Didn't you say that you liked her? Didn't you say that you would—"

"I know what I said. I know that I said that, and I know I said more," Neji interrupted him, turning around to glare at him. "Can't you just leave me alone for a second?"

Sasuke didn't know what to say, except glare at him with hate. "You know what? I'm sick of this. **This** is the reason why Sakura left. You never helped her when she was in a situation like this. And now—you could've prevented it and save Tenten, but you're not doing that either. You're fucking screwing around with them if you think that you love them. Fuck—you know what? Screw this."

He didn't bother closing the balcony door as he slammed Neji's bedroom door shut. Neji was left standing on the balcony, staring after Sasuke. He was confused for a second – but then ran after Sasuke to find out what he had meant.

"Uchiha!" He shouted, grabbing his shoulder to stop him from walking.

"What the fuck do you want, Hyuuga?" Sasuke glared at Neji with his cold eyes. "It's fucking pathetic if I have to explain to you what I meant by what I said."

Neji didn't say anything, except let Sasuke continue ranting. "And people call you the genius," Sasuke scoffed and crossed his arms as he glared at him. "Sakura called me. Sakura called me when she was getting beaten up, but every time I got there, it was too late. She was bloody, bruised, and she was fucking being broken apart every time she got kidnapped. And you know why?"

Sasuke dared him to answer with his eyes. Neji looked at the ground, not saying anything. "It was because of **you**. Your fucking fan girls got pissed off because Sakura didn't know her place. She was only a year younger than you – and they got pissed that they couldn't get you and yet someone younger did. Did you really not know that? Are you that fucking oblivious?" Sasuke asked harshly.

Neji still kept quiet. "Was that the reason she left?" He asked quietly.

"Why the fuck does it matter anymore?!" Sasuke shouted, pushing Neji back his room. "She fucking left and what you have right now in front of your fucking eyes is being fucking beaten up like Sakura!"

Neji didn't snap out of his daze as Sasuke continued to scream at him. "The exact same thing is happening, and you're just going to let this happen. What the fuck is wrong with you," were the last words Sasuke said as he left his room.

* * *

"That was Tenten – I'm sure of it," Kairi said, as she and Ino ran down the streets of the busy city. "But where the hell did she run to?!"

"Are you sure that was her?" Ino asked breathlessly as she looked around her, trying to catch a glimpse of Tenten. "We all know that she doesn't run."

"But she told me before that she took track and field," Kairi answered back as she poked her head in a random store. "And she probably isn't here anymore…" Kairi said with a sigh.

"Where could she be?" Ino asked chewing on her lip. "I mean, she couldn't have gone _that _far, right? How fast can she run?"

"She got a couple of trophies for track," Kairi said quietly. She groaned to herself as she rubbed her temples. "Why the hell is she?! Why was she running?! What the hell happened?!"

Ino sighed. "She's probably fine," she said. "And even if she's in trouble, she knows how to fight, right? I mean, she took karate and all of those martial art classes."

Kairi still didn't look convinced. "I still think she's in some sort of trouble."

Before Ino could say anything else, Kairi's phone rang. Kairi looked troubled as she looked at the caller ID.

"It's Sasuke."

­

* * *

"Fucking cheaters," Tenten muttered to herself as she blocked multiple attacks thrown her way.

She dodged and kicked, and kicked and dodged. The hits seemed endless as she kept retaliating them. She groaned to herself as she was struck on her shoulder by a metal pipe. She could hear the man (or was he the leader of them?) laugh at her attempts to not get hit.

"You really know how to put on a show," he said.

Tenten rolled her eyes as she heard that. Not too long ago he was on the floor rolling in pain, and now he was laughing at her?

"Did I knee you _that _hard?" Tenten said in a mocking tone as she dodged the metal pipe. "Either I must have gotten stronger than last time, or you just have a really—"

"Shut the fuck up!" He shouted, cutting Tenten off. It took a few moments for him to calm down, while Tenten was grinning to herself. He took a deep breath as he continued. "Now, why aren't your little friends coming to help you?" He paused before continuing. "Oh wait, you have no friends!"

The rest of his men laughed along with him, like it was the funniest joke in the whole world. Tenten rolled her eyes as she managed to hit a couple of them while they were laughing. They were off guard as they fell to the ground. Tenten grinned to herself as the laughing subsided when she got the chance to take one of the metal pipes they had.

"Now, now," Tenten started as she whacked someone (she couldn't tell who was who in the darkness) on the neck, "we're not talking about you here, so you should stop talking about yourself."

She could feel his glare on her back as she continued to whack the person to the ground. Hearing a slight movement behind her, she dodged just in time. The metal pipe hit the back of the person she was hitting previously, and he groaned at the hard impact.

Tenten grinned sheepishly to herself, thanking whoever was up there for her ears. She would've broken her back if she didn't dodge that. She could feel the man getting impatient as she dodged an attack from her right.

"Okay, finish this already!" He yelled, getting pissed off.

Tenten smiled as she elbowed someone in the gut. That very person stumbled and fell on the ground, hitting his head against something. Tenten was distracted for a second, as she saw a little light that came through from the wall.

'_Okay… So I just need to move that thing blocking whatever that light is… maybe it's a window!' _Tenten smiled at her thought as she continued to push the men towards the place with the light. The others didn't know of her idea though – they were too busy to not get hit by her wild and reckless swings.

The leader of the group was inwardly getting annoyed. "Hey! How long does it take to finish off this girl here?!"

Tenten rolled her eyes as she threw another man towards the spot. "You shouldn't be talking," Tenten said. "I mean, after all, I **did** knee you. If you're so sure of yourself, why don't you come and fight?" Tenten threw yet another man towards the spot. She could see the more of the light. "Instead of you know, having all these men fight for you."

She could hear him growl. She grinned. Her endless comments were getting to him, and she couldn't be happier that it was following her plan. She heard him finally snapping and charging towards her. Lucky for her; she was right in front of what seemed like blocks blocking a window. She dodged his charge, and he crumbled with the blocks to the floor. The light finally shown from the window, making a few of the men groan as Tenten grinned in victory.

She refrained herself from doing a victory dance as she tried to open the window. The window was cold and hard – there was no possible way that it would open, except for someone flying through it. She cursed under her breath as she gave up trying to open it. She turned around just in time in evade an attack from one of the man with a metal pipe.

"Lucky!" She said, shielding herself from the flying glass. The metal pipe had hit the window when she dodged, making glass fly everywhere.

Tenten knew that some glass had probably cut her, but she could care less. All she had to do to get out was climb out of the window – which was hard, since there were bits of glass around the window sill.

She saw the leader under the blocks move a little. "Shit," she cursed under her breath. All the other men were regaining their strength again, and she had no more time to get out. "Man, I hope I don't get any scars from this…" She muttered, as she hurriedly lifted herself from the floor.

She put her hands on the window sill, ignoring the excruciating pain that shot up from her hands as she lifted herself up. She carefully put her head through the window, not touching the sharp glass ends from the top of the window. Tenten looked down, and grinned. Thank god it was the first floor. As she jumped, she felt someone holding onto her leg, pressing it against the broken glass.

Her eyes widened at the pain, tears screaming to fall out. That person had let go – but as she fell, her leg slid against that broken glass. She bit her lip, preventing herself from screaming out. Putting her hands in front of her, Tenten landed safely on the ground. Glass fell along with her and she breathed heavily. She looking up, gritting her teeth from the pain. No one was looking out of the window at her – she was grateful for that.

Tenten blinked back her tears and ran the fastest she had in a long time.

* * *

"If I were a bad guy, where would I take Tenten?" Ino asked, tapping her chin.

Kairi rolled her eyes. They were still standing in the middle of the street, creating a hard obstacle for passer-bys to walk around. They had gotten a call from Sasuke minutes ago – and yet, there they were, still wondering where Tenten would be. Kairi had gotten a hunch, but Ino had ignored everything she had said.

"I'm telling you Ino, follow me already!" Kairi strained herself from yelling.

Ino still didn't hear Kairi and was lost in her own thoughts as she mumbled to herself. Kairi trembled from her anger and she groaned. "You know what?!" Kairi shouted, "Suit yourself! I'm going to the warehouse, where it's the **most obvious place **where they would kidnap Tenten to!"

With that, Kairi stomped off and left Ino in the middle of the street.

-

"Fuck…" Sasuke said softly to himself.

"We got here too late," Kairi grumbled as her eyes never left the scene.

Both of them had met up at the same time. Neither had questions on why they had known it was this place – they just knew. The door was locked with something, and they had taken at least half an hour to open it. By the time they did however, no one was there. The place was trashed – a chair broken to pieces were all of the place, glass around a broken window, blood on the floor and on the walls, a few metal pipes were also tainted with flood.

"This fucking reeks of blood," Kairi said, analyzing the place.

Sasuke kept to himself, not saying anything. He gritted his teeth as he stepped into the warehouse. Kairi followed him, walking around the places with blood. She stopped by the window and held her breath.

That was the place with the most blood she had ever seen. There was blood on the broken glass from the window – and all over the ground. She poked her head out to check the surrounding areas. From there, she could see the blood on the concrete ground.

"Sasuke," she croaked, taking a deep breath with her head still out the window.

He didn't answer back, but she knew that he was listening. "I think Tenten escaped through the window," she said, as she walked towards the broken chairs.

"We got here too late…" Was all he said.

* * *

"Hinata-sama," Neji said, greeting her as she passed by.

Hinata looked a bit shocked. "N-Neji-niisan, why are you still here? A-Aren't you supposed to be looking for T-Tenten like the others?" She had been walking around the city, looking for Tenten like the others. She had bumped into Neji on her way back to the Hyuuga Manor.

Neji didn't say anything to that. "I…" He trailed off as he looked up at the sky.

Hinata looked down on the floor. "O-Oh, well, I hope that you're looking for her now," she said, as she continued to walk to the Hyuuga Manor.

She had been looking for Tenten ever since she had received a call from Sasuke, saying that she had escaped from the warehouse. It was nighttime now – hours had passed without any calls from the others on whether or not if they found her. Hinata had hoped that she would be at the Hyuuga Manor by now, but by the looks of Neji, she probably wasn't.

Neji didn't seem all that worried about Tenten too, which worried Hinata. She knew that he cared about her, maybe more than he cared about Sakura. Hinata sighed as she kicked a pebble on the sidewalk. She was confused – maybe Neji didn't care about Tenten, too. She had heard from Ino who had heard from Sasuke that he, "didn't give a damn about Tenten's wellbeing, and won't move his ass to find her."

But Hinata knew that this was how Neji worried. He was probably shocked that the exact same thing was happening to Tenten like what had happened to Sakura. He probably didn't know how to approach it. Maybe the feelings from so long ago came back to him, and he was shocked because of that. Hinata shook her head. She was thinking too much, and nothing good ever came out of thinking. She should've been trying to find Tenten, and not thinking about what Neji felt. Maybe that was why Sakura moved away – because she had been thinking too much about things.

She had hurt Sakura in her own way. Sakura knew that Hinata disapproved of her relationship with Neji – even though she didn't say anything about it. Hinata knew that Sakura hated how she kept everything to herself, everything that she analyzed about her actions to herself. But that was how she was – she couldn't voice her opinions, even though Sakura wanted her to.

Hinata sighed. She didn't want the same thing to happen to Tenten. She was a dear friend to her, just like Sakura was. But they weren't the same person – Hinata knew that Tenten would stand up for herself, and not let herself get beaten to death like Sakura did. She knew that Tenten wouldn't depend on anyone, like Sakura did in those situations. It was all or nothing and she knew that Tenten felt that way.

She was way different from Sakura and Hinata knew that. She couldn't help but feel that she and Neji will fall for each like Sakura and Neji did. She had no problems with that – that relationship, she approved of. She knew that Neji didn't care if she approved of his relationships or not, but she approved of his relationships in her head. She knew that the relationship Neji had with Sakura wouldn't work out – and she was right. She knew that deep inside Sakura, she still liked Sasuke. She had always liked Sasuke, even when she was with Neji.

Hinata stopped herself before she let her thoughts wander. She had to stop herself from thinking too much.

* * *

Tenten blinked back more tears with each step. She sniffed as she held back a sob. She didn't want to cry – why was she even crying in the first place? She stopped walking as she slumped down on a bench. She was losing the feeling in her leg, and that wasn't a really pleasant feeling. She closed her eyes as she took deep breaths.

She could feel her leg losing blood, and she growled at herself. She couldn't believe how stupid and careless she was – how could she have let that happen? She should've jumped out sooner, instead of just sitting there.

Tenten opened her eyes, and stared at the dark night sky. It was nighttime already – she had no idea how long she had been walking in the city for. Time seemed to pass by her these days without her realizing it. She sighed as she bent and looked at her leg. There was a nasty long scratch from the broken glass there. Blood was still pouring out from it, and Tenten had no idea how to close it.

She gritted her teeth as she looked around. No one was around her, and there wasn't a pharmacy in sight. She had no idea how far the Hyuuga Manor was from here, and she didn't intend to walk around to find it, with her oozing blood from her leg.

"Fucking hell…" She muttered to herself.

She stood up. There was no point in sitting there, anyways. Might as well walk and find the Hyuuga Manor.

'_I'll get my revenge. This isn't over yet.'_

* * *

_Review-ers(:_

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Sorry): SORRY! Took two months, eckkk. School's such a bitch ): That's the only excuse I have for this :O I had papers due, and I had like no free time to write. Well I did have free time, but come on. I need to live a little too (:

Well, I haven't been writing for such a long time, so I basically suck at this ): When I have time I'll go back and revise this :D

**BTW;**  
Merry Late Christmas! (: Review as my present (:


	32. Jan 9 & 10, Tues & Wed

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Twenty-two & Twenty-three_

**Chapter Thirty-Two—**Because I'm Stupid

"Mommy, why is he running?" A young boy asked his mother.

"Probably trying to find his girlfriend," his mother replied back, taking a quick glance at the frantic teenage boy. "Teenagers…" She sighed as she tugged on her son's hand. "You'll grow up to be just like him," she said with a gentle smile as her son grinned back at her.

"Where is she…" Neji mumbled, running pass the pedestrians.

He narrowly dodged a car that swerved his way, causing the car to honk irritably at him. He ignored it though, as he continued to run. The people that he passed looked at him with curiosity, wondering where he was going to caused him to almost get hit by a car. Neji ignored those looks too, as he was only concentrated on one thing.

To find Tenten.

* * *

Tenten breathed heavily as she sat down on a bench. She closed her eyes, with tears threatening to fall out. She gasped out short, heavy breaths as she tried to calm herself down from the pain. She didn't know why she felt this way. She had been in greater pain than this before—in worse situations than this.

This type of problem was miniscule compared to what had happened to her before. She knew all of that, and yet, the aching pain in her heart still didn't go away. She felt blood trickling down her leg, never stopping to the endless flow.

Why?

Why?

Why?!

She hated that question that she asked herself all the time, because she could never find the answer for it. She didn't know what she was even asking why about, and she didn't want to know.

Tenten cursed under her breath as she opened her eyes. She stared at the empty sky, bare without the stars that dotted the blackness. She listened to her breath that gained a rhythm to her breathing, and cursed ever so quietly again. She closed her eyes once again, falling into a deep slumber.

-

**Tenten's POV**

"_Get the fuck out of here."_

"_What are you—"_

"_Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. Here."_

"_You're speaking nonsense—"_

"_I said get the fuck out of here! What the fuck don't you understand?!" She screamed, breaking down. Tears streamed down her face as she glared at me. The glare was something I had never seen on her before. Sure, she had glared at me many times before, but this one was new. It was full of hatred. Full of disgust._

"_What are you talking about?" I asked quietly, afraid to look anyway else other than her eyes._

"_You're a fucking jinx," she cried. She continued to give me that look of hatred, of disgust. Of anger, of revulsion. "IT'S ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT! Why the fuck did they have to adopt you?! WHY?! If they hadn't, none of this would've happened! You're a fucking jinx; get the fuck out of here!!"_

_Her words stung. I knew this would happen—since it did every time I was moved. But for some reason, this time, it stung the most._

_I didn't say anything back to her. I knew that if I did, I was in for it._

_She fell to the floor, sobbing. She screamed out incoherent words, and I couldn't do anything to help her. I made a move to help her, comfort her, do __**anything**__ for her. But what happened next, stung me the most._

_She looked at me with those hateful eyes—the very same eyes that comforted me when I broke down for the first time. "I never want to see you again…"_

- -

"_Wow, when Ami said that you were desperate for a home, I didn't think she was serious," she said with a sinister smile._

_I said nothing to her; she wasn't worth my time to talk to. I ignored her and her little group of friends (if you could even call them that) and walked down the street. Her smile turned to an annoyed scowl. She followed me, and quickly stepped in front. I looked up at her lazily, not wanting to deal with anything. _

"_Don't ignore me bitch," she said in a totally different tone from before. "You fucking made my best friend's parents die, and you're still strutting around like you're so fucking innocent? Let me tell you one thing," she said darkly, "don't think you can run away from this. You'll get what you deserve. And when you do," she glared at me with the same eyes that Ami glared at me with, "you'll fucking wish you were dead."_

-

Tenten woke up with a jolt. She winced as the pain in her leg shot up throughout her body. She bit her lip to keep herself from screaming in pain. She looked around to see where she was – she had momentarily forgotten what had happened.

She realized after a couple of minutes that she was still out. Out where, she did not know. It seems that not a lot of time passed when she fell asleep – it looked like barely a minute passed, since it was still as dark as it was before.

Tenten slumped back as she closed her eyes again once more. She knew that it was stupid to sleep on a bench, especially in a place she didn't know with her leg injured. And anyways, who knew when those thugs were going to come back to "kill" her.

Suddenly, she sat up and widened her eyes. It all made sense now. Everything she had questioned a few hours ago was answered. She finally figured it out.

It all made sense now.

* * *

"If I were injured and was stubborn, where would I go…?" Kairi questioned to herself.

Sasuke answered Kairi's question in his head. _'Someplace where not a lot of people are…' _He shook his head as he looked around. It was impossible to find a place like that, unless a person was running blindfolded. Everywhere there were crowds of people, even at midnight.

"Hey Sasuke, do you think that Tenten went back to the Hyuuga Manor?" Kairi asked, sliding her cell phone up and down.

"No," he answered without hesitation. Kairi raised a brow, as if it was a sign for him to explain what he meant by it. He sighed as he explained. "She has an injured leg. She was probably running away from the people who kidnapped her. It's late at night, and I doubt she knows the way back from where she is now, which is probably far away from the warehouse."

Kairi groaned as she slumped on a nearby bench. "We didn't see any bloodstains outside of the warehouse. How could she have gotten away without leaving a trail of blood? This doesn't make sense at all… The only blood splatter was near the window with the broken glass, but now we don't even know where she ran off to…"

"This is as far as we can think of where she ran off," Sasuke said. He was about to sit on the bench when a blood smear caught his eye. He inched closer to a smear of faint red, and stared at it.

"What are you doing, Sasuke?" Kairi questioned his odd behavior.

"What does this look like to you?" He asked.

Kairi stared at the faint red on the bench. Her mouth slowly formed into a smile. "Seems like she was trying to cover up her tracks."

Sasuke was about to say something, but his phone interrupted him. He answered it irritably, without checking who was calling. "What?" He answered rudely.

Kairi rolled her eyes at him. Before she could say anything, however, he had hung up on his call already. He took off in the opposite direction before she had a chance to even utter a word.

"Hey! Where are you going?!"

"She found her!"

-

"You said you found her."

"…_Well_," Ino said sheepishly. "I found _a part _of her… does that count?"

Kairi cringed in disgust. "That sounds oddly disgusting, Ino. How does blood count as a part of her? And how can you be sure if that's even her blood?"

Ino glared at Kairi. "Well at least I found where she was before! Unlike you, who just ditched me in the middle of the street when I was in my panic mode," she scoffed at her and crossed her arms.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Oh please, if you were here earlier, then you wouldn't gotten her! But no, you had to take your sweet precious time to get here and you missed her."

Sasuke growled. He didn't have time for their useless babbly. It was getting on his nerves and giving him a bigger headache than it did before. "Look, I don't need to hear any of your useless arguments. She couldn't have gotten that far with that injured leg of hers, so we'll just follow the path."

Ino smiled in triumph, "Well you couldn't have gotten this far without my help, so a thank you would be nice!"

Kairi rolled her eyes and followed Sasuke, who had already started walking. Ino glared at them when she realized she wasn't getting her thank you, and stomped after them.

"They never say thank you…" Ino grumbled to herself as she childishly stomped after them.

"Oh get over it," Kairi said.

"No, I will not! You never appreciate what I do!" Ino huffed, crossing her arms.

"Now's not the time for your stupid antics," Sasuke said, glaring at Ino. "Your constant bickering with each other is getting on my nerves. Can you just shut up and be quiet?"

"Touché," Kairi and Ino muttered at the same time.

* * *

Tenten inwardly groaned to herself. "How much further will it take…?" She muttered, limping. The pain in her leg had gone away a little bit, and the bleeding had stopped for a while.

She heard footsteps behind her, and she tensed up. This wasn't good. She was in no condition to fight after that injury of hers, and plus, she was starving. She stopped walking and closed her eyes. The footsteps behind her stopped too, meaning that the person following her had stopped. If he (or she) was going to kidnap her again, she was still going to put up a fight, no matter what her injuries were.

She was about to turn around (she couldn't run away with that leg of hers) before a familiar voice nearly stopped her heart from beating.

"Tenten."

He found her.

She didn't know whether to feel happy, angry, sad, or anything at all. All she felt now was shock, basically. She didn't dare to turn around, not knowing why. She could hear his heavy breathing, which was quite a shock to her.

He was never out of character before, and she knew that this was out of character for him. She wanted to run away. She wanted to run away, _badly_. She didn't know that he would actually go to look for her – however much she wanted that to happen. It was all confusing, and she didn't know why.

There was that question again, that haunted her mind.

Why? Why did he go looking for her?

"Tenten," he said again, this time, louder.

She didn't want to turn around. She thought back to the 'deal' she made with those plastic idiots. This would break one of the rules – not that she cared about them, or whatever. But what happened today made her cautious of them. She knew now that it wasn't very smart to mess with her.

"Tenten," he repeated again.

His footsteps got louder with each step that he took. It was deafening – but she knew that she was just imagining it. Maybe this was all a dream – and she would wake up from it, and be on that bench she was before.

This was all a dream. It had to be.

He grabbed a hold of her wrist, which surprised Tenten. She didn't even know that he was this close to her. What he did next surprised her even more.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

"She fucking got away?" She snapped at them.

"Y-Yes. We tried our best, she was just—"

She kicked him in the stomach, and watched him roll in pain on the floor. She bent down to his level, and whispered in his ear, "Well now you know that your best wasn't enough." She stood up, stepping on him as she walked towards the exit. "I can't believe I wasted one fucking week with you," she said with disgust. "You didn't even finish the job, too." As she touched the door knob, she smiled slyly. "Hey," she called out to the darkness. "You guys can take care of him. Don't stain the floor, though. I just had it remodeled."

As she closed the door behind her, she could hear the screaming begin. She laughed to herself as she walked down the abandoned street, her coat flying in the air after her.

"Seems like you're enjoying things," a voice called out to her.

"Ah, Ayama. What are you doing here?" She answered back.

"I just came to see what was going on with our little deal," Ayama explained, stepping out of the darkness.

She sighed as she turned to Ayama. Ayama raised a brow, assuming that things didn't go as planned. "What, your little toy messed up?"

"You can't trust them to do things right. If you want them done…" she smiled slyly, once again. "You have to do it yourself.

Ayama laughed. "When she sees you, she'll flip out, Ami."

Ami laughed nonchalantly.

"That's the plan. She'll finally have what she deserves after all these years."

* * *

_Haylo(:_

xmarachanx** ll** Deyanira-chan** ll **SnowCharms **ll** missy4eva** ll** Lyris88** ll** Chigiri Sasaki** ll** _dianalovely1995_**ll** IheartItachi-kun** ll** Gaara- aishiteru **ll** 10manday01 **ll** MissBrown22241** ll** _Lorna_ **ll** naruto watching freak **ll**_ Uchiha, Nami_**ll** _foxflyer_** ll** tenten2295

Hehe, midterms and regents are over :) Halleluiah! A new chapter in celebration :D I know, I know, a short chapter is bleh :l But oh well, this is better than nothing(: I think it'll be over in about 10 or so chapters :D But I don't really know xD

Ah, this chapter's title is the song **Because I'm Stupid **by **SS501**. It was on the album for Boys Before Flowers :D Anyone a drama addict?! Haha. The chapter before, was **Strong Baby** by **Seungri**, from Big Bang. Korean fanatic, don't mind me (: And the chapter before that is **Disturbia** by **Rihanna**, but I think you all know that already:D Chapter 29 was **Replay **by **Shinee**. Chapter 28 was **Love Like That** by **Wisnu**. Chapter 27 was **Tonight **by **DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki**; they have so many names I don't know which one to use xD And, I think that's all :D

Maybe there will be an update next month, or something :D During a break, most likely. Mid-winter recess is coming up, maybe I'll update then xD This is kinda late, but Happy New Years! xD And Happy Lunar New Years too (:

_Review in celebration! (: Or review just cause.:D_


	33. Jan 10, Wed

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Twenty-three_

**Chapter Thirty-Three—**Love Like Oxygen

"I'm sorry."

His apology echoed in her ear. The words came back at her once they were finished, and it constantly picked at the little tear in her heart that she didn't know she had. Tenten was hesitant to turn around, to face Neji. She knew that it was useless to run, since her leg was injured and Neji had a hold of her wrist.

She closed her eyes, not knowing what to do. She had never felt so… trapped.

"Why do you keep running away?" Neji asked, his grip on her wrist tightened.

She took a deep breath, and just said whatever was in her heart.

"Because I wanted you to find me."

* * *

"So she's safe?" Ino sighed happily as she ended her call on her cell phone. She turned to Kairi and Sasuke with a happy smile. "Tenten's safe!"

Kairi rolled her eyes at Ino. "Well, no duh, we heard you the first time when you were talking on the phone.

Ino glared at Kairi, who didn't appreciate the news as much as she did. "Well, who told you to listen to other people's conversations?! That's really nosy, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. You were putting up quite a show when you were talking on the phone, with exclamation points at the end of every sentence and hand gestures every time you replied to what Hinata was saying. Let me ask, who _wouldn't _overhear that conversation? By the volume of your voice, I bet the whole neighborhood heard you," Kairi said dryly.

Ino narrowed her eyes at her. "Why are you so sarcastically mean tonight? You know, first you ignore me when I found a really important clue as to where Tenten is, and then you don't bother saying thank you! Now, when I told you the very, very important news that Tenten was found, you wave it off saying that you heard me say it while I was talking to Hinata. You could've at least be sensitive to my feelings and—"

"Okay, you know what? Your rant has gone off long enough, I think my ears are going to burst from hearing you talk that long. How long can you talk for, anyways? I'm going home; I need my sleep and I'm totally skipping school tomorrow," Kairi said, walking away from Ino.

Ino fumed as she watched Kairi walk away. Adding on to her frustration, when she looked around for Sasuke, he had suddenly disappeared when the two had the pointless argument.

"What the hell is up with people ditching me today?!" Ino shouted, stomping her feet like a child who was throwing a tantrum.

­—

"Stupid Ino and her useless blabbering… now I have a headache and it's all her fault…" Kairi muttered as she smacked her head a few times.

"You're losing more brain cells than you already have," Sasuke said, showing up from out of no where.

"Where'd you come from?" Kairi asked warily, eyeing him with a suspicious look.

He didn't bother answering her, and continued to walk side by side with her. Kairi mumbled something incoherent, and the two friends walked in quiet peace. Barely a soul was outside, at that time of night (or morning, since it was pass midnight). Kairi snuck a few glances at Sasuke, wondering why he would be walking next to her, or be near her at all. Usually he would walk (or run, whatever floats your boat) away from her (or anyone else, really) when he saw her. But this time it was different – he had actually voluntarily walk with her.

"Would you stop looking at me?" Sasuke asked monotonously. "It's annoying and it makes me think that you're one of my fan girls, too."

Kairi huffed and rolled her eyes at Sasuke's arrogance. "Oh please Uchiha! I admit that I was a member for a week (Sasuke raised his brow at this, since it was new information for him, but Kairi had missed that action of his), but that was only because I was curious of what they do in that club! It had nothing to do with how hot you are, what a perfect body you have, or… any of that at all! So, don't be Mr. Arrogant, Uchiha—"

"You know, for a girl saying that Ino talks a lot, you're just contradicting yourself," Sasuke cut in, getting tired of her endless babble.

Kairi glared at Sasuke as she shut her mouth. "…Anyways, long story short, I'm not one of your annoying fan girls that worship you and kiss your feet," she muttered looking down at her shoes. She suddenly looked up at Sasuke with a suspicious expression. "Hey, why are you even talking this much to me? Usually you would just say a few necessary words and then walk away like you don't know me at all."

Sasuke sighed inaudibly as he ignored Kairi. She gave him a look of disgust since he had ignored her. She turned her attention back to what was in front of her, and continued talking.

"I know, you must have something you want to talk about, but you have no one else to talk to, right?" Kairi guessed.

"Yeah, you sure are a contradictor. Why are you even talking this much?" Sasuke asked.

"Ino's voice hurts my ear with her nagging. And I just want to know the reason for your sudden appearance beside me. What has happened to you that has made you grant me the honor of seeing you and speaking to me?" Kairi asked sarcastically.

"Can you just stop talking for one minute?" Sasuke asked.

Kairi rolled her eyes as she didn't speak. She didn't want to waste her saliva on this type of person anyways – the I'm-so-cool-that-I-don't-need-to-talk type of guy. It was all very amusing really, but Kairi knew that it wasn't a laughing matter at this time of day (since, it was technically the next day already).

"Did Sakura contact you in any way?" Sasuke finally spoke.

Kairi felt her mouth twitch upwards into a smile, but she contained herself. She didn't know why, since it was still dark and he couldn't see her expression. "So, this was what was troubling you? I apologize, no contact from Sakura whatsoever."

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. "One more month… and you don't know the date?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Nope, not at all. She could pop in any date on the month of February, and we wouldn't be prepared for it at all. Why are you stressing over this? It's so unlike you," Kairi concluded, eyeing Sasuke. "Just… go with the flow if she shows up unexpectedly. No one's asking you to throw her a welcome back party," Kairi shrugged.

They turned the corner, and soon, they were in front of Kairi's house. She stopped and turned to face Sasuke. She gave him a tired but big grin as she patted him on the shoulder.

"Aw, perk up Sasuke!" Sasuke grunted at this and glared at Kairi for touching his shoulder without his permission. She ignored this however, and continued to pat him, each pat getting harder and harder. "Go back to that I'll-kill-you-if-you-look-at-me type of guy, and stop being such a lovesick teenage boy!" The last pat (it was more like a smack) she gave him made him flinch a little. She grinned at him and disappeared through the door to her house.

Sasuke glared after her, and rubbed his shoulder a bit. "She's lying about being tired…" He muttered to himself, as he continued his way home.

* * *

Tenten flinched from the pain as Neji cleaned out her wound. She watched the blood that was dried on her legs disappeared as Neji wiped them away. His hands worked fast as he cleaned her leg, and she stared on as if she was in a trance.

"What did you do…?" Neji asked softly as he started applying medicine to the bloody injury.

Tenten winced from the sudden coolness of the medicine and pain. She bit her lip to keep herself from letting out a noise. "I… uh, hurt myself when I was trying to escape from the window," she explained quietly, as she stared at her wound.

"Why didn't you call for help?" He asked, now done with the cleaning. He took out some bandages and started wrapping up her large scratch.

"It wasn't like I could," Tenten muttered as she stared down at her fingers. "They had my hands tied and I was basically knocked out when they brought me to that abandoned warehouse… and then I was busy you know, trying to survive, and how could I have found the time to call you guys for help through all that?" She rolled her eyes as she examined Neji's work with her bandaged leg.

Neji got up and put away the first aid kit. As he came back, he stared at Tenten for a split second. "Go take a shower first," he said, as he threw her clothes, "you stink."

Tenten's mouth dropped a little as she stared at him with unbelieving eyes. He had apologized to her not so long ago, and had seemed so sincere – now he was insulting her by telling her that she stunk!? She narrowed her eyes at Neji and got up from his bed. She limped her way pass Neji and towards the door.

"Stupid Neji," she muttered quietly, but loud enough for him to hear when she passed him.

Although she missed it, a somewhat small smile formed on Neji's face.

—

As Tenten exited the bathroom in her bedroom with a towel in her hand, drying her hair, she sighed. It was confusing – and she felt like she wanted to sleep and never wake up again. Anything was better than this drama that was going on in her life.

First she got kidnapped by some really freaky sex-obsessed thugs, and then Neji finds her and starts apologizing… it was all weird, really. It wasn't Neji's character to apologize, and Tenten wondered why he did. She sighed once again as she finished drying her hair. She threw her towel onto her chair, and she fell back onto her bed.

Tenten closed her eyes as her thoughts went wild. They stopped shortly though, when she heard her door open. She sat up quickly, glaring at the person who just walked in.

"Hinata?"

"Tenten," Hinata greeted with relief, "t-thank goodness you're alright. You had us worrying about you during the whole night."

Tenten smiled warmly at Hinata. "Sorry about that…" she said sheepishly. "When I get into situations like that it usually takes me a while to get out of it… and since there wasn't anyone who cared back then, I always took my time. I guess I just forgot that there were people who still cared," she said sheepishly yet again.

Hinata smiled. "Well, at least you're here now. What did Neji-niisan talk to you about?" She asked curiously. "Y-You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to," Hinata stuttered, realizing that she was stepping into Tenten's personal life, "I just wondered why he was so urgent and wanted to treat you by himself and not let the other maids—"

"Nothing happened with Neji," Tenten said, cutting Hinata off as she looked away. "He apologized (Hinata gasped a bit softly at that) and then he insulted me…" Tenten muttered, looking down on the floor. "The insult was obviously not needed, that ass," she said, rolling her eyes.

Hinata recovered from her shock of Neji's actions. "W-Well, that's nice, that he apologized to you." As she started to open her mouth to say something else, something caught her eye. "Tenten?" Hinata questioned. Tenten looked at her, with a brow raised, as if to let her know that she could continue on. "What's that on your bandage?" Hinata asked, pointing to a few words that were written on them.

Tenten stared at the writing confusedly. When were they there?

She widened her eyes as she read the words. Hinata didn't come any closer to read them, afraid that she was stepping into boundaries once again. She observed Tenten's expressions, which went from being confused to shock.

"Hinata," Tenten said quietly, after a few minutes of silence. "Can you read this and tell me I'm not imagining things?"

Hinata stepped over to her quickly, and bent down to read the words on the bandage. Her eyes too, widened just like Tenten's.

"'I like you.'"

­

* * *

"I hate you."

"Hi Kairi! I'm fine, what about you?"

"I hate you."

"The sky's rather nice today, don't you think?"

"I hate you."

"Oh my! Is that Hinata I see? Let's tell her to come here—"

"I. Hate. You."

"W-What's wrong with Kairi…?"

"Oh, don't mind her Hinata. She's just PMS-ing a little, you know how it is. Personally, I think she didn't get enough sleep because of the bags underneath her eyes, but you know, we can just keep that between us—"

"I can hear you, you know! And **who** do you think caused these bags to appear?! You! Yeah, that's right, you! You had us searching for you all night, I barely got any sleep, bags appeared in the morning and my freaking brother screamed in my face when he saw me, and now I just got an F on a test because I fell asleep and drooled on it!"

"… you drooled on your test?"

"You drool in your sleep?"

"I-Ino, Tenten, you guys s-shouldn't provoke her anymore—"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!"

"Gosh, stop screaming. We all barely had any sleep last night but we're not complaining like you are. Now, be a good little girl on her period and just shush up."

"…I hate you too."

Once the bell rang, everyone went to their first period classes. Tenten still hadn't told the others about what Neji had written on her bandage – if it was even Neji who wrote it in the first place. She was pretty sure that it was him, since he was the one who helped tend to her wounds.

Tenten flushed as she thought about it, heading to her class. And just her luck, she bumped into Neji.

"S-Sorry!" Tenten stuttered.

She groaned in her head. _'Why'd I stutter? Now he definitely knows that something is wrong…'_

"It's okay," he said.

As Tenten was about to pass him, Neji grabbed a hold of her. He lowered his head to her ear, and whispered, "I'll wait for your answer." He released her, and walked on, leaving Tenten behind.

She nearly choked on her spit as she heard those words.

'_So they were from him.'_

She shook her head as she started walking faster towards her destination, not wanting to bump into anyone else that she knew. She kept her head down, for a reason she didn't know either. She avoided bumping into people by staring at their shoes. Of course, that had never worked, causing her to bump into another unwanted person.

"Oh, hello Tenten. What a surprise to see you still in school," Ayama smiled sinisterly.

Tenten looked up at her with distaste. Her eyes traveled down to Ayama's stomach, and she smiled sinisterly, mocking Ayama. "Oh, hello Ayama. What a surprise to see you not pregnant."

Ayama's smile disappeared, and it was replaced by a glare. "Bitch, you don't know what you're talking about."

Tenten grinned at her. "Oh really now? Your little toys told me all about it. How they were paid by sleeping with you to get rid of me. Now, don't you think that it's not really fair? I mean, you _have _the money to pay them. Why bother letting them touch all over your body? We all know that it's been infested by thousands of germs and STDs."

Ayama scoffed, keeping her anger down to a minimum. "Well, you know what _I_ heard? Poor girl has STDs herself," she gave Tenten a fake frown, pretending to pity her, "Is this the reason why you're so against other people having sex? Because _you _can't do it? It's okay Tenten, there's no need to be ashamed. We're all like that in one way or another."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "They actually bought that crap I made up, isn't that hilarious? You really should find some smart guys to fuck up. At least then they can tell apart the lies and the truth. But then again, smarter guys would know not to get within five feet of you, right? Because of your infested body, that is."

Ayama glared at Tenten once again, not knowing what to say back. "Well, I just came here to give you a warning," she said, switching to a new topic. "Your friend from the past is going to pay you a little visit. Be sure to greet her with a nice smile like you always did, and try not to scare her that much," Ayama leaned in a bit to Tenten's ear, "she gets pissy easily, and if you don't watch your back, you might not have one soon." Ayama pulled back, and gave Tenten a bright smile. "Well, see you later Tenten!" She gave her a wave of her fingers, and skipped off to class (or to cut class, which seemed more likely).

"An old friend…?" Tenten narrowed her eyes at Ayama's retreating back. "I wonder who she's talking about…"

* * *

"Mina? Why are you calling me this late?"

"Oh, sorry Sakura… I forgot that there was a time difference between America and Japan. Sorry!"

"Hah, it's okay Mina. What's wrong? Why'd you call me this late? Did something happen? Did you get nightmares again?"

"Slow down with the questions Sakura! Don't worry, nothing happened to me. Well, nothing yet anyways. I just wanted to hear your voice – wow, that sounded really lesbian, didn't it?"

"Haha, yes it did. What do you mean, nothing yet? What are you planning over there? I better not hear you getting into trouble again, or else I'll—"

"You'll what huh? You'll kick my ass? Tough luck! You can't reach me from halfway around the world, can you? Yeah, that's right, that's what I thought! Anyways, I'm not planning anything. …Okay, maybe I am planning something, but it's a surprise for you once you get back!"

"You're so weird, haha. Okay, what surprise? A welcome back party? You know I hate parties, so it must be… I really can't think at this time of the night, why don't you just tell me?"

"You're so stupid Sakura, no one said you had to guess! You'll see once you come back. I'll bet you'll be really happy about it too!"

"You sound oddly suspicious…"

"Do you doubt me, Sakura? Just trust me on this, and everything will go fine. Promise me that I'll be the first one to see you once you come back to Japan?"

"Hmmm… I don't know, I wanted to see Hinata, Kairi, Hinata and the guys again—"

"Sakuraaa! Don't do this to me! See me first, please? I'm alone in this house, won't you just drop by say hello, and then you can see your other friends? I haven't seen you since I was taken away by my foster parents in America, and I really want to see you!!"

"Okay, okay, I'll see you first. Gosh, you're such a whiner. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Ugh, fine! This is the first time in like a thousand years since I've called you and now you're going to sleep on me?"

"Yes, yes, the guilt trip won't work this time, Mina. Good night."

"Good morning!"

* * *

_Reviewers!_

animegirl9989** ll** Deyanira-chan **ll** FlyingMonkiesAttack** ll** Musical Demon Obsessed Girl88** ll** MissBrown22241** ll** FrozenVoices** ll** _foxflyer_ **ll** CatxRock07 **ll** Lyris88 **ll** naruto watching freak **ll** missy4eva** ll** HPMagicLuvr** ll** xmarachanx** ll** SnowCharms** ll** _chigirii_ **ll** Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei **ll** sasukerocks123

Haylows! (: I updated, yayy! Let's throw a party, haha. So, technically, it hasn't been a month because 30-31 days hasn't passed yet(; So, I only took a few weeks to update!:D Lols. The chapter title is the song **Love Like Oxygen **by **Shinee. **Well actually it's supposed to be SHINee, but who cares o.o

Err, if you don't remember Mina, she's that girl who gave Sakura's letter to Sasuke at the mall. Just to clear that up(: And if you're really smart, you'll guess the right things, but if you're not… then too bad, you'll have to wait till the end of the story to find out why I put that conversation in there! :D …I just gave away the entire thing, didn't I? o.o

**Review!  
**for my Valentines Day gift(:


	34. Jan 13, Sat

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Twenty-Six_

**Chapter Thirty-Four—**Why I Like You

It was finally the weekend.

The weekend of escape, for Tenten, that is.

Starting from Wednesday, each and every minute of her time in school, she felt someone burning holes in her back. It was annoying, and every time she turned around to see who was doing that, she felt the person's presence gone.

Of course, Tenten had thought that she was just being paranoid.

Who wouldn't after they'd been through a situation like Tenten did?

Tenten sighed as she collapsed on the bench, the very same bench she went to when she was avoiding Neji from before. She looked up at the morning sky and breathed in the fresh air. No one was out this early in the morning – no one except for Tenten, that is.

She had taken extra precaution to getting out of the Manor then she usually did. She didn't want to wake up Hinata, Neji, or anyone from the Hyuuga family, and as for the maids and butlers, she had gone into sneak mode to avoid being seen by them. As a result of that, she was outside at the very moment at 8:57 in the morning.

Tenten sighed as she stretched. She didn't know why she was avoiding him again – well okay, she did, but she didn't want to admit it. It was oddly embarrassing, the reason being, she had never been confessed to. That, and the fact that it had been _Hyuuga Neji _who had confessed to her.

She groaned and slump down in the bench once again. It was her favorite time of day – 8:59 sharp – for a little thing she called reflecting time.

Oh, how she wished she had been born a male.

* * *

The scene kept replaying in her head as she took the scenic route from the Hyuuga Manor towards the park that was a few blocks down. It was all very confusing. Why would Neji like _her_, out of all the girls at school? Why would he like her, when she was a nobody, when all she did was fight, when all she was… was someone just not.... _worthy_ of a person like Neji?

Why would he like her?

It didn't make sense. Tenten felt as if she was in denial – like she didn't want to believe the fact that a guy actually liked her. She always had at least one guy who liked her in her old schools, but this felt different. This felt… she didn't know how to describe it. It was just a different feeling.

Tenten sighed as she sat down on one of the swings. She swung slowly as she sighed again.

She didn't know what to do. Accept his confession? That would bring complications. She didn't know why but it would. The whole threats, it was just getting too much. Normally, she would've just let out her anger by finding the people who threatened her, and just beat them up. But this time… somehow, she felt that it was too much of a risk to go and find them.

And then it clicked.

Everything made sense. Well, almost everything. The only thing that made sense to her was the reason why she couldn't accept the fact that Neji liked her. It made sense. Well, most of it. The thought of him liking Sakura was still looming over her mind, and it wasn't going to leave any time soon.

Tenten sighed as she stared at her own misty breath in the cold air. The cold air wasn't doing anything good to her, so she stopped swinging, and settled down for slow rocking on the swing. She stared at her boots, and then the ground. It had yet to snow, which was to Tenten's dismay. She liked snow – she liked it a lot, actually. She especially loved it when it came down fast, with no wind, and in big puffs. It was a beautiful thing, to watch it come down.

Too bad she knew that she'll never see that happen.

Tenten sighed a heavy sigh, and picked up a pace in her swinging. She knew she wasn't going to get anyway, just thinking over the same thoughts over and over again. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. She wished she could go back to the same where the only emotion she knew was discontent and content. Things were so much easier when it was in black and white.

She said as she looked at her watch. She didn't want to bring out her cell phone – too much of a hassle. She wanted her time to herself, without any distractions and whatnot. It was 9:20. Twenty-three minutes had passed, without her noticing. It seemed like it was only ten minutes while she was lost in her thoughts…

Tenten sighed again. This was why she hated 'reflecting time'. Yeah, she did it before, too. It was back when she was in junior high; she had accidentally (note: accidentally meaning accidental, and not on purpose) punched a person by mistake. It was a total accident, but the person she punched took it to her advantage (she had always hated Tenten, but Tenten never knew why) and insisted that it was on purpose.

And of course, the teacher decided to justify it right away when she didn't do anything all those other times Tenten beat up the kids who got her pissed. Yeah, that was the only time that the teacher decided to do anything… teacher-related. She never taught anything, and basically slept during class while the students screamed across the room. The principal never mentioned anything, either.

Well, the teacher had made her sit in the corner, and told her that it was 'reflecting time' for her, and that she needed to rethink her thoughts, and question herself on why she was so… aggressive. That didn't work out, of course. Since Tenten's back was to the teacher (and plus, since the teacher was sleeping), Tenten also took the liberty of sleeping.

And if the day couldn't get any better, she got her revenge after school.

No, she didn't beat up the teacher. But the person she _did_ beat up was the girl who insisted that Tenten punched her on purpose. This time, she really did punch her on purpose. And did a whole lot of other stuff on purpose, too. She hadn't got the chance to receive her punishment, since the next day, she was sent to the orphanage, yet again.

All in all, Tenten never liked the so called 'reflecting time'. It annoyed the heck out of her, and whenever she thought about the things she did wrong, she always had a headache. It took too much time to think about the things she did bad (which was quite a lot), and there wasn't usually anything that made her feel good at the end.

Tenten sighed once again. She seemed to be doing that a lot these days. Her mind went back to Neji, and his confession. It seemed surreal for him to do that… since the whole problem with Sakura and all, was still on her mind. Tenten didn't know if she liked him or not. She didn't know if she wanted to accept Neji's confession, and she didn't know if she wanted to say the exact same words to him. She just didn't know what to do. It was all too confusing for her.

Tenten bit her lip as the cold air got to her ears and hands. She had left the house without the necessary things, like a cell phone, mittens and ear muffs. She rubbed her hands together, and got off the swing. She had decided to go to a place where less wind was blowing – inside a little igloo–like playhouse, where there were small seats for children. It was somewhat big, in length that is. Tenten still had a head to go before her head reached the ceiling. However, the space of the igloo–like playhouse only seemed to fit about three teenagers like Tenten's size.

She sighed as she leaned back on one of the walls into the igloo–like playhouse. It wasn't as cold in here as it was out there, which Tenten was grateful for. She stared at the opening for the playhouse, as if she was waiting for someone to come in. She smiled painfully as she moved her legs into the Indian sitting position. She closed her eyes, wanting to sleep, even though she knew she was going to get a cold.

"You're asking for your death if you're going to sleep here," someone said, coming into the playhouse.

Tenten opened her eyes immediately, but relaxed after she saw that it was only Neji. He sat next to her, but they were at least a foot away from each other. Tenten looked at him from the corner of her eye, before she looked straight ahead again. it was just all too embarrassing. Heck , it was just all too tense.

"So… how did you know that I was here?" Tenten asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"This just seemed like where you would go at 9 am in the morning," Neji replied back politely, as if nothing had changed between them at all.

Tenten gulped as she brought her knees to her chin. She ignored the pain that went up her leg when she did that. She didn't want Neji to think that she was too weak to bear the pain of a simple wound. She placed her forehead on her knees once the silence continued on. If he wasn't going to put in the effort to make a conversation, neither was she.

"Are you really going to sleep here?" Neji asked, looking at her.

Tenten mumbled something that Neji didn't hear. He sighed silently, and watched his misty breath evaporate into the air quickly. He didn't know why he decided to go to the park. He just had the sudden urge to take a walk, and when he stopped, he ended up at the park he always went to with Sakura. It was really coincidental that he saw Tenten inside the igloo-like playhouse. The same playhouse where—

Neji shook his head as he looked away from Tenten. It was useless to think those thoughts now. She was gone, and she wasn't going to come back. Not now… now ever.

"Hey," Tenten said, picking her head up as she looked at Neji with tired eyes. "Why are you so quiet if you came here?"

"I didn't come to look for you," Neji said (rather harshly). He blinked and looked back at Tenten, who was biting her lip. They stared at each other, before Tenten put her forehead back on her knees, after muttering a small, "oh". Neji sighed inaudibly as he crossed his legs like Tenten had done before. "What I meant –" Neji looked down on the cold floor of the playhouse before continuing. "I was taking a walk like you," Neji said, "and then I ended up here."

Tenten smiled, but she didn't know why. Only Neji could maker her laugh at the most dullest things. "Great minds think alike, huh," she said, her eyes still closed.

Neji smiled a little to himself, too. Tenten was the only one who could make him smile, even if it was just a little. He looked around the playhouse, and spotted what he was looking for. It was writing on the wall, and he quietly moved over to the writing. He picked up a marker that he conveniently carried around with him, and started crossing out and writing something.

Tenten sniffed the air, and smelled sharpies. it was just something she always knew the smell of – sharpies, that is. There was once a time in ninth grade when she went on a sharpie craze. She had gone around the markets and bought every single color of sharpies, and proceeded to vandalize things with it. At first, it was all notebooks, folders, and loose-leaves. But then, it turned to quite an obsession with drawing and writing things with the sharpies.

In short, the walls of the school she went to in ninth grade were covered with sharpie drawn pigs, clouds, rainbows (with at least twenty different colors), dogs, buns, pandas, and of course, the infamous double 10.

She looked up just as soon as Neji was getting out of the playhouse. He turned around to face Tenten, who was looking up at him in confusion.

"Leaving already?" She asked, trying not to sound desperate. There was something within those lines that made Tenten cringe – they were like the lines a girlfriend would say to their boyfriend.

He nodded, as he started to take off his gloves. "I need to get back. Hiashi-sama called to meet with me," he explained as he also proceeded to take off his scarf.

"For what?" Tenten asked, not noticing that he was taking off his scarf and gloves. "And you still have 'meetings'?" Tenten scoffed.

Neji narrowed his eyes at her. "Yes, we still have meetings. And it is mandatory to go. Here," he threw his scarf and gloves at Tenten, with the scarf landing right on her head and the gloves landing neatly on top of them. "Keep yourself warm." And with that, he walked off.

"Wait, what—?" Tenten quickly took off the scarf to ask him why he gave his things to her.

Unbeknown to her, Tenten's face was heating up; her ears felt no longer cold. She looked down at the gloves in her hand and sighed as she put them on slowly. It felt weird to wear someone else's gloves and scarf. She snuggled into his scarf, smelling his scent on it.

The gloves and the scarf felt oddly warmer than she thought.

* * *

Tenten walked down the block humming a little tune to herself. She was feeling better than what she had been feeling this morning. She didn't know why though – okay, maybe she did, but she was just in denial. Tenten smiled at one kid who looked up at her with big, curious eyes. She felt happy for the first time in the past two days.

It was 10:09, and no one was out yet, since it was such a cold day and all. She turned the corner, and walked into yet another park. She had no idea where she was going in the first place; she walked wherever her legs took her. She walked up the steps, and sat down on the first bench that she saw. She stretched, and sighed happily.

And of course, happy things don't last too often.

"Tenten?" Someone questioned.

Tenten heard footsteps, and then it stopped. She looked up at the person, and she widened her eyes. _'What is she doing here…?'_

"Tenten!" She said, running up right in front of her. "I can't believe that you're here! I didn't imagine the last orphanage would send you to _here_, out of all the places!" She said with a friendly, joyful smile.

Tenten blinked twice, as if she couldn't believe that the girl was talking to her like this. It was a shock, really, to even see her here, out of all the places in Japan… "What… are you doing here?" She asked slowly, as if it wasn't really her.

She laughed joyfully yet again. "Tenten, how could you forget? Remember after my parents' death? Things weren't going so well," her joyful smile became a menacing frown, "so we had to move." Her voice became dark, like it was never joyful in the first place.

Tenten looked down on the floor before looking up at her. "Ami…"

"Don't 'Ami…' me!" Ami cried. "I don't get why _you_ have the happy life, while you are causing horrible, horrible feelings to other people! How can you be so selfish to make yourself happy?"

Tenten opened her mouth to say something, but when she saw the look on Ami's face (if looks could kill…) she decided to keep her mouth shut for the moment. There was always a time and place for brawls, and this wasn't the time. Or place.

"I don't get how you're so happy, while other people are so… _sad_. I don't get how you're so fucking happy," her voice took a deeper tone. "So… _fucking _happy, when you're the reason for my parents' deaths. You still don't feel the guilt? You don't feel anything at all? Are you fucking telling me that you don't have a fucking conscience?!" She screamed at Tenten, and Tenten took it all in.

'_I deserve this. I deserve all of this, even though it was an accident the way her parents' died…_' Tenten continued to look at Ami, not showing any expression.

Ami grew madder by the second, because of Tenten's lack of reactions to her burst of anger. "Why the fuck aren't you saying anything?" She whispered lowly.

It was funny how the things worked out – when she yelled Tenten didn't flinch or show any sign of fear. But when she started to speak in a low voice, it got her a bit scared.

"You're really going to keep quiet?" She asked in the same tone. Ami gave her a painful, yet threatening smile. "We'll see if you keep quiet after what happens to you. You're going to be the reason why Sakura breaks," she said threateningly.

"…You know Sakura?" Tenten asked softly.

She smirked, finally able to see the reaction that came out of her. "Yeah, I know her. We're close friends, too. And I know what she'd do if she finds out that you're dating her loved one," she said. "So, if I were you, I'd rethink that idea of… accepting that little confession from Neji."

Tenten narrowed her eyes at her. She stood up, standing a bit taller than Ami. "Okay, I know that your parents' are dead, and it's because of me, but there's no reason to bring Neji into this! You're angry, I get that, but if you're going to be—"

"Am I, Tenten?" She asked harshly. "That's how is happened with my parents. My parents fucking died because you went out with this fucking mentally retarded boy."

Tenten became silent for a while before she spoke up again. "He was not mentally retarded," she said. "And—"

"Just stand up for him," she said quietly, more calmer now. "My parents will really appreciate what happened to them and what you said."

"They never did anything for me to be guilty about it!" Tenten shouted, her anger exploding. "You might think that they did because they were trying to save me from something stupid, or that they died from doing something for me, but you're fucking wrong! They wanted to fucking die, they're the ones who wanted to commit suicide, but when that didn't work, they came to me!"

"You're such a liar," she said, glaring at me. "It's despicable how you can lie about this right in my face."

"I'm not lying!"

"You know, you're going to get it one of these days," she threatened. "Just like how my adorable men got you last a few days ago," she said, smirking as she looked down on my leg. "Healing up nicely, is it? Well, don't worry about that, they'll have it back to bleeding profusely when they get you."

Tenten bit her lip from screaming and lashing out at her. "Profusely? Did you study a dictionary, or what?" Tenten asked, quickly reverting back to her never-ending retorts. "You never had that kind of vocabulary in the past, you know."

"Yes, I cracked open a book or two," Ami retorted back.

"What a shocker," Tenten said with a fake smile. "So, I'm guessing those men were fucked up by you, and not Ayama? Wow, I made a big mistake there, no wonder you look a little chubbier than usual around your stomach area."

"Shut the fuck up," Ami said, glaring at Tenten. "We got half, half," she admitted.

"Ah, that would explain it," Tenten said with a reminiscing smile, thinking back to the time with the buffoons in the warehouse. "And my leg? It's perfectly fine, thank you very much," Tenten lied, looking down at her leg.

"Oh really now?" She smirked, taking another quick glance at her leg. "Well then, we'll see about that." Her phone beeped in her pocket before she could say anything else. Taking a quick glance at the caller ID, she turned away from Tenten to mutter a few quick words before hanging up. "So, unlike you, I have somewhere to be," she glared at me. "Next time I see you, you're going to be begging for forgiveness."

"Hm, somewhere to be? More like someone to fuck. Is that another one of your goons that you have to pay… _daily_, in order to get them to do their dirty work for you?" Tenten asked, tilting her head as a sudden cold breeze hit the side of her face. "And, me, begging for forgiveness? Not going to happen," Tenten said, shaking her head.

Ami narrowed her eyes at Tenten before walking off, not bothering to get the last word. Tenten watched her until she disappeared beyond the steps. She sat and slumped back down on the bench, sighing.

Another gloomy day.

* * *

For some odd reason, Tenten ended back in the igloo-like playhouse. She sat back in her previous spot, not bothering to take a pit stop at the swings like she did before. Somehow, the playhouse gave her a warm feeling like the gloves and scarf did.

Tenten looked around the playhouse – it had a quaint feeling to it, and she knew that whenever it was warm out, the kids would crowd in this little playhouse. She had seen it many times before, too. The playhouse really did give off a warm feeling.

Something black caught her eye on one of the gray colored walls. She crawled towards it, since if she stood up, she would've banged her head on the ceiling. She peered closely towards the black inked marks, which seemed to be some kind of writing. She read the words that were crossed out by a black marker. The words '_Sakura and Neji' _stood out to her. Underneath that, which was also crossed out was _'together forever!' _seemed to have stood out to Tenten too.

Her heart seemed to have dropped a hundred feet, from the way she was feeling. As she looked what was next to it, a smile grew on her face, her heart flying back up.

**Neji+Tenten  
I love you.**

"Isn't it a bit too early to be saying I love you…?" Tenten muttered, even though she smiled at that.

That was what he was probably writing before. That was why she smelled the sharpie scent when she had her head down. That was why he left right after, because he didn't want to be caught in action of writing it. He hadn't been near me in any of the times he had written 'I like you' or 'I love you'.

The smile on Tenten's face faded away as quickly as it came. She got it. She got the reason why Ami was so furious and everything clicked together from there on. Tenten bit her lip as she looked back at what was written on the gray wall. Now that she knew everything, how can she just go on with Neji like how she was with him now? It felt wrong. It felt horribly, horribly wrong, for some reason Tenten didn't know.

She knew that Sakura was going to come back in just a few weeks.

She knew that Sakura will still be in love with Neji.

She knew that if Neji sees Sakura, he might feel something for her, once again.

She knew that if she decided to life Neji, her heart might get broken.

She knew all of that, and yet, why did she start to feel like she liked him?

"It's official," Tenten whispered to herself, as her heartbeat increased.

"I like you, Hyuuga Neji."

* * *

_Reviewers(;_

xmarachanx **ll **_foxflyer_ **ll **Deyanira-chan **ll **HPMagicLuvr **ll **Musical Demon Obsessed Girl88** ll **naruto watching freak** ll **SnowCharms **ll **Gaara- aishiteru** ll **animegirl9989 **ll **_chigirisasaki_** ll **missy4eva** ll **MissBrown22241 **ll **Lyris88 **ll **_N/A_ **ll **Katsumi Ashia **ll **FrozenVoices **ll **_to lazy to sign in _**ll **IheartItachi-kun **ll **_Lorna_** ll **Luna2986** ll **Tenten2295** ll **WaffleSharpie** ll** Tenten2295

Ah, I updated!! (: It's Spring Break, that's why! I stayed up till like, 1 o'clock AM to finish, so you guys should be ecstatic :D I kinda like this chapter, sorta xD But it's all up to you guys, ahah.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Rough grammar, like every other chapter, but only than that, I don't think it's that bad (: And to answer **naruto watching freak**'s question, (who's Mina and what does she have to do with Tenten and Sakura) well, I can't really answer that, because that'll give away what I have planned. The answer will be clear in the next chapters, because well, that's when Sakura makes her long waited debut! Lols. And you should have an inkling of who she is in this chapter(;

And also, the title of this song is **Why I Like You** by **Super Junior**. I like the beat (:

**Review!**  
for… an Easter gift? (; lols.


	35. Jan 17, Wed

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Two**  
_Day Thirty_

**Chapter Thirty-Five—**Secret World

Three days had passed without Tenten realizing it. She had barely realized that it was Wednesday before she collapsed on her bed, feeling dead exhausted. She had successfully avoid Neji (for a reason she did not know, or rather, believed strongly that she wasn't avoiding him, and just had a lot of things to do), as well as Ino and Kairi. Of course, she had seen Hinata at times at school and at the Manor, but she never stopped once to say hello, or make a small conversation.

Tenten sighed to herself as she stared at the ceiling. It was silent – dead silent, like it always was at the Hyuuga Manor. She closed her eyes as she took another small breath.

Sunday was horrid. As expected, she had caught a cold, and a horrible one, too. There was sneezing every fifteen seconds, and coughing came right after the sneezing. Tenten was on the verge of losing her voice, but she had immediately gotten better when school came around, for some odd reason.

Monday was not as bad. It took up most of her energy to avoid Ayama, since she wasn't in the mood of dealing with her. And like always, her teachers had decided to give millions of assignments, right at the beginning of the week. She had at least three tests everyday of next week, plus, she had a couple of essays due for each class. Her teachers claimed that, "they were falling behind the other classes," and it was kind of suspicious that all the classes she had were "falling behind".

She did hear a rumor about how the school was losing its eleventh place on the top school list.

Tuesday got better. Half of her teachers were absent, and that meant no assignments due for the next day. Still, Tenten took this rare opportunity (almost all of her teachers were never absent, for as long as she went to school there) to get a head start on her homework.

The results?

When the alarm clock rang the next day for school, she found herself sleeping on the table with her books in front of her.

She hadn't realized how tired she had been lately, and the fact that endless thoughts of Neji were on her mind didn't help at all. The only good thing about the three days was that none of her friends had pestered about what was going on with her. To that, she was grateful.

When she was finally drifting off to slumber, she heard a quiet knock on her door. Tenten opened her eyes slowly and sighed, thinking that it was a maid who wanted to change her towels. She ignored it, and flipped to her side on her bed. The knock came again, and she groaned. Getting up irritably, she threw open the door with an annoyed expression.

"Hey."

Tenten stared at him. It was odd for him to come looking for her. Well, this is the first time he came to her door, anyways. Tenten looked at him warily, feeling a sense of comfort when he stood in front of her. "Why are you here Neji?"

Neji looked at her, as if he was confirming something. "Grab your coat," was all he said before he turned and walked away.

Tenten stared in confusion after him. "What in the world…?"

* * *

"Are you kidding me?" Tenten deadpanned. "We came out here in the _freezing cold _to get _ice cream_?!" She burst as she shivered against the blowing, cold wind.

Neji handed her the chocolate ice cream while he ate his chocolate ice cream himself. He didn't bother answering her as Tenten took it from him. He walked off, leaving Tenten frozen in her spot with an ice cream (which seemed like a frozen stick to her) in her hand.

Tenten grumbled as she came to her sense. She stomped after Neji, a little bit aggravated that she had been dragged (not really, since she came willingly) out in the freezing cold to eat something, well, even _colder_. Following Neji mindlessly, she didn't notice that he had stopped in front of a café. Not realizing this, she couldn't to stare at the ground and stomp like a little kid.

Bumping into Neji's back, she glared at him irritable. "Why'd you stop?!" She asked hotly.

Neji raised a brow, but said nothing more. He entered the café, leaving Tenten outside. "The man of a million words," Tenten grumbled as she followed him inside the café. Her cold ears seemed to immediately turn warm when she entered the shop. It felt cozy and nice, with the smell of hot chocolate in the air.

Tenten took a deep breath, smelling the air. She smiled to herself and wondered why Neji brought her there. Immediately, she turned red. _'This… isn't a __**date**__, is it?!' _She widened her eyes at that thought, and nearly crushed the un-licked ice cream in her hand. When she realized that she was crushing it unconsciously, she started licking the ice cream that was coming out of the cone.

Once she was done with that, she looked up, to see Neji staring at her with… an amuse expression? Tenten didn't know what it was of course, since she hadn't seen him with an expression other than the 'leave me alone I don't want to see your face or talk to you' expression. Tenten raised a brow, and before she could speak even one word, someone called out their names.

"Neji! Tenten! You guys took _forever_!" Tenten heard a voice that sounded very much like Ino.

She turned around to see that the whole group was there, in the back booth. _'So this wasn't a date…' _Tenten chuckled to herself as she walked past Neji and towards the back booth.

"W-Why are you eating ice cream in the cold…?" Hinata asked, staring at the semi-crushed ice cream in Tenten's hand.

Tenten laughed sheepishly as she scratched the back of her hand. She gave the ice cream to Kairi, who had been eyeing it rather curiously. Kairi took it happily, and licked what was left of it. Ino gave her disgusted looks as she stared at Kairi eat the unsightly cone. Kairi shrugged once she caught Ino's look of disgust.

"Ice cream's better in the winter; it doesn't melt like in the summer!"

Ino rolled her eyes as she went back to texting someone on her phone. Hinata stared at the ice cream, not knowing what to say about it.

"It feels like we haven't seen you in forever," Kairi said while she chomped off a part of her ice cream.

"That's because we haven't seen her at all," Ino stated, still texting on her phone.

Tenten smiled at her friends, suddenly realizing that she missed their bickering with each other. Seeing that Tenten was already starting to cheer up, Neji turned towards his group and sat them with them. They had two tables; of course, it was gender based.

As quick as she had started to eat it, she had already finished it. Kairi gave Tenten a smile, as if it was a sign of thanks. Tenten grinned back, immediately feeling normal again. She hadn't realized that she had been feeling empty lately – like a part of her was missing. As soon as she saw her friends again, she felt finally back to her old self again, without all the complications of her love life.

"You've been avoiding us haven't you," Kairi accused as she warmed her hands up with her hot coffee.

Tenten avoided Kairi's accusing stare. "Uh, I'm going to get what you got," she said, getting up abruptly, trying to get away from the topic.

Kairi sighed as soon as Tenten stopped at the counter. "Yeah, she's been avoiding us," she said glumly.

Hinata smiled softly as she looked back at Tenten's back. She knew that Tenten was going through some hard times, but she didn't know what to say to make her feel better. She looked down at her hot chocolate, staring at the marshmallows dissolve in the cup. It was always like this—she knew what people were going through, and yet she couldn't do anything to make them feel better.

"Don't look so down, Hinata," Ino said sincerely, having put down her cell phone. She gave her a light smile as she went back to eating her croissant. "I'm sure whatever Tenten's going through, she'll get through it. She's not the type to give up halfway."

"Wow, you actually sounded deep for once," Kairi drawled on sarcastically.

Ino glared at Kairi as she chewed on her food angrily. "No one needs your sarcasm here, Kairi. You can't go one day without it, can you?"

"D-Don't get that started again," Hinata said, breaking into their argument.

Ino and Kairi rolled their eyes as they became silent again. They went back to their thoughts—it had been like that most of the time these days. They didn't talk a lot to one another, without Tenten there to lift up their spirits. Everyone had their own things to think about, so silence was what filled in most of their time together.

There was a slight buzzing sound coming from Ino's cell phone. She picked it up quickly, and had a small smile on her face when she read what the text said. Kairi rolled her eyes—it was probably Shikamaru. Funny; he had always said texting was a waste of time. But even so, that didn't make sense, since Shikamaru was just on the next table.

Ino quickly texted whoever the person was back with sudden eagerness. The silence of the table was filled with Ino's quick fingers as she hurriedly pressed the buttons. Kairi sighed rather loudly again, earning a glare from Ino. Ignoring that glare, Kairi sipped her coffee again.

It was a boring day, like all the other days.

"Why so quiet?" Tenten asked, coming back with her drink and a croissant, like Ino.

No one bothered to answer her; Kairi was ignoring whatever was going on, Ino was too busy texting her beloved boyfriend and Hinata was too wrapped up in her own thoughts. Tenten raised a brow at her friends' actions. It hadn't been this quiet since… well, since, ever.

Tenten drank her hot coffee, deciding not to say anything. Everyone seemed odd, with the exception of Naruto screaming at the next table. Other than that, the whole café was quiet.

She propped her arm up on the table, and put her palm under her chin. She drummed her fingers to a familiar melody, and sighed once again. She was glad to be with her friends, of course, but the silence was unnerving. As she lifted the drink up to her mouth, her eyes caught on someone she didn't want to see. She widened her eyes, dropping her cup of coffee. It spilled all over the table, spreading everywhere, and even dripping on the floor. She gasped quietly to herself as she took the napkins to wipe up the spilled coffee.

Hinata, noticing the predicament that Tenten was in, snapped out of her thoughts. Her eyes widened like Tenten's as she quickly got up to get more napkins. Kairi finally stopped ignoring what was happening, and started to laugh to herself whereas Ino was glaring at Kairi for laughing at something that wasn't funny.

"Oh lighten up, Ino," Kairi said, still laughing. "You're always glaring all the time, it's not very attractive, ya know. I don't know how you got Shikamaru."

"My glares are only directed towards you," Ino said hotly, putting away her cell phone in her bag.

"Oh don't I feel special," Kairi said sarcastically once again.

"You know what Kairi?" Ino asked, glaring daggers at Kairi.

"No Ino, I don't. Would you care to enlighten me on what you've found out?"

"Can't you just shut the f—"

"Guys, a little help here?" Tenten pleaded as she tried to stop the coffee from dripping on her. "I don't think that I clean this up myself."

"Oh, just let the workers here do it," Kairi said, waving the matter off with her hand. "That's the point of their job: to clean up spilled mess. Just leave it," Kairi said, ignoring the spilled coffee as she picked up her own drink to drink. "Why'd you drop it anyways? You're not that clumsy."

Hearing this, Tenten instinctively looked up to see if who she saw was there, still. Unbeknown to her, she let out a sigh of relief as she saw that they weren't there. Ino raised a brow at the odd action from Tenten, and followed her gaze out the window. She scanned through the few people that were out, and found no one that would be able to make Tenten drop her drink.

"What happened?" Hinata asked quietly, leaving the pile of napkins she used to clean the mess on the table. A girl who worked there (she had the uniform) sighed as she came over to clean up the mess.

Tenten looked down at the dripping coffee. "I thought I saw someone," was all that she said.

Kairi tensed up as she heard Tenten say this. She looked at her with cautious eyes, wondering if who Tenten saw were the same people who tried to kidnap her. She sipped her coffee quietly, as if she was going to miss something by just drinking.

"Who?" Ino asked.

"No one special," Tenten said, grinning up at them to make them feel less worried. "I thought I just saw an old friend," she said breezily as she finished up her croissant. Ignoring her friends' disbelieving looks, she turned to the café's clock. "Ah, look at the time," she said as she got up. "I still have homework to do, sorry guys. See you tomorrow," Tenten said quickly, dashing out of the café before anyone could protest.

Tenten sighed as she stuffed her cold hands in her jacket pocket. Truthfully, she had no homework, since she finished all of them during lunch (during her little escapade from her friends). She wandered aimlessly around the streets, unconsciously avoiding the spot where she had seen _them_.

It wasn't really surprising that they were where she was—it was just a little shocking and overwhelming that they'd come in just three days. She shouldn't be shocked though—she knew what Ami could do. Tenten sighed as she settled down on a bench, staring at the people who hurried past her. It was obvious that the safest way to deal with it was to stay in the café; with her friends. But she couldn't risk them knowing what happened. It wasn't like she wanted to hide it, but she didn't want them to know, either.

She felt her cell phone vibrate against her leg, but she chose to ignore it. It was too cold to take out her hands to get her cell phone, and plus, she knew that it was probably Neji wondering why she left so quickly. Tenten bit her lip as she got off the bench. It was wiser to go home than to stay here in the vulnerable cold.

"Where you going so quickly?" A sly voice asked as Tenten hear footsteps around her.

She looked behind her and glared. They were different ones than the ones she had fought before—but they were thuggish looking, just like the others. "Oh, you know," Tenten said breezily, not wanting the numbers of the group to get to her, "just trying to get out of the cold."

"Oh really now?" He asked, giving her a wicked grin.

Tenten felt the need to throw up just looking at his face. Holding back a revolted expression, she smiled grimly back at them. "Yeah… so, what are you guys doing? In so many numbers too?" She asked, faking her cluelessness as she looked around at the endless thugs that surrounded her. "You know, if I didn't know better this would like a total suspicious activity," Tenten said, managing to get a joke out.

"She jokes!" One of them said. "She still joked even though she knows what's going to happen to her," Tenten heard him say wryly.

"Well, you know, you kind of get used to it when it happened to you the first time," Tenten retorted back, giving the guy who said it a glare. "And also, just for the record, this really _does_ look suspicious. Why don't you tie me up and bring me to a warehouse like the other douche bag did to me?"

"Because that would look even more suspicious," the same one who talked first stated.

"Oh really now?" Tenten said, using the same words he used before, earning a glare from him. She smiled back, "Surrounding an innocent girl is not as suspicious as accidentally knocking her out and taking her somewhere," she rolled her eyes.

The guy seemed to contemplate something. it was a real joke to look at him while he was doing that, since he had the whole troubled expression on his face. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, he grinned up at Tenten. "Hey little girl, that is a really great idea," he said, nodding his head. Tenten raised a brow, wondering what he had meant.

"Get her," he said seriously, pointing at Tenten.

She widened her eyes as she realized what she had just suggested. "Me and my big mouth," Tenten muttered to herself. Dodging the arm that came her way, she fought the urge to scream as thousands of arms came flying her way. Nearly escaping them, she felt herself tugged back by her hair.

"Holy fuck!" She shouted as she almost fell backwards. She yanked her hair back violently, and glared at the person who tugged it. Not losing any time to run away, Tenten sprinted through the crowds of pedestrians that were hurrying.

"Shit!" She heard someone scream, obviously out of frustration.

"Mission Escape Freaky Looking Desperate Gorillas: Accomplished!" Tenten said to herself with a smile as she continued to sprint across the street.

* * *

"I still think that she's avoiding us," Kairi said hotly as she drank her third cup of coffee.

Ino knew that Kairi wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. She just knew it.

"M-Maybe she just thinks that it's better that we don't know," Hinata said, sticking up for Tenten. Kairi rolled her eyes as she continued to drink her cup of coffee. "She should know us by now; keeping things away from us is only going to make us want to know it more. It's not going to make it better if she doesn't tell us what's going on."

Hinata looked to the side, knowing that Kairi was fully right. Ino pursed her lips, but other than that, she made no move that she was going to speak. Kairi sighed as another blanket of silence coated over the air. She continued to drink her coffee, not caring that this was the third night she won't be able to sleep.

"Why are you guys so quiet?!" Naruto said irritable. The quietness of the girls' table was even getting on his nerve, too.

"Shut up Naruto," Ino said with disinterest, playing with the small spoon that came with her cappuccino.

Naruto didn't seem to take offense to that; he seemed to be energized with that little sentence from Ino. "Man, you girls are really weird. Are all three of you on your period or something? Is this why you've been quiet the whole week?" Naruto continued on annoyingly.

Ino's anger bar was slowly rising, but she made no comment as she suppressed her scream at Naruto. Hoping that he would go away and leave them to their silence quietly, she continued to sip her drink. However, Naruto, being how he always was, didn't seem to get the clue.

"Man, you really are on your period! How come you're so quiet? I thought girls became violent and loud and angry, not quiet!"

And the anger bar in Ino's mind exploded.

"Shut up, Naruto!!" Ino shouted. "We three are not on our periods, and we would appreciate it if you would just _shut up!_ We all have our own things to think about, so that's why there's silence whenever we're together, okay?! It's not because of our stupid period, and for your information, I do _not _get violent or angry or loud when I'm on mine!"

"It really is her period…" Naruto muttered to himself as he slowly turned away from Ino.

Ino twitched, ready to burst out again, but Kairi came to the rescue. "Naruto, just be quiet," she said with disinterest, not wanting to hear Ino's scream again.

Listening to Kairi, Naruto went back to his table, shouting and screaming to his heart's desire. Ino breathed in and out, trying to calm herself down. Kairi rolled her eyes as Hinata looked back, biting her lip as she felt sorry for Naruto being the victim of Ino's rage.

"Tenten really is odd these days," Kairi thought out loud.

"I thought we established that minutes ago," Ino said with a sigh as she calmed down from before.

"It gets on my nerves every time I think about it," she admitted finishing her cup of coffee. "She's hiding something."

* * *

Walking down the bright lit street, Tenten hummed to herself. She was feeling happier, knowing that she had escaped from the thugs that tried to get her. She smiled to herself as she grew happier and happier by the second.

"You know, if I didn't know you, I'd think you were crazy," a chuckling voice came from beside her.

Tenten whipped her head around quickly. Her accelerated heart beat slowed down as she grinned at the person who was next to her. "Misaki! I haven't seen you around since… _forever!_" Tenten said with a smile.

He chuckled returned the smile back. "Hi to you too, Tenten," he said. "You seem to be doing well," he commented as they both walked down the street.

"Oh, you know," Tenten said, shrugging even though she herself didn't know what she was talking about. "Where are you going?" Tenten asked as she peered over at Misaki.

"Kairi was supposed to be home an hour ago," Misaki said, frowning. Tenten smiled to herself—it seemed like Misaki cared about why Kairi was out so late. "So mom kicked me out to go find her, and she said that I can't come back in without her," he muttered darkly.

Tenten laughed nervously. So she was wrong. "So you've been walking around like this for an hour?"

"More or less," he replied, lifting up a plastic bag. "I bought myself snacks in case I wasn't going to go back home for dinner," he said with a smile.

Tenten laughed as she grabbed the bag. "Wow, did you buy like the whole supermarket?" She asked in astonishment as she looked through what he had bought.

"No," he said, grinning. "Just the junk food part of it."

They laughed together as Tenten handed back the bag. "Well, thanks for walking with me," Tenten said gratefully as they both stopped in front of the vast Hyuuga Manor.

Misaki shook his head. "No problem," he said, handing Tenten a bag of chips. "Here, my gift to you for not seeing you in so long," he said with a grin.

Tenten took it with a smile. "And I hope that you get back home eventually," she said with a chuckle. "Bye," she waved to him as she walked past the gates.

"Hey," Misaki called out, stopping Tenten from walking any further. She raised a brow, wondering why he stopped her. "You have friends, Tenten," Misaki said seriously, his joking demeanor gone.

"Yeah I do…" Tenten said, wondering where he was going with the conversation.

"They're there for a reason," he said, "Pushing them away won't make them leave; keeping them in the dark won't make them not find out. They're there for a reason," he repeated with a smile as he waved goodbye, jogging away.

Tenten stared after him in confusion, wondering what he was talking about. She turned back around slowly, and as she started walking again, she wondered what he meant by it.

* * *

'_Don't get in trouble anymore.'_

'_Don't get in trouble anymore.'_

'_Hi! My name is Sakura, what's yours?"_

'_Ami? Are you okay? What happened to you?'_

'_Mina? Why do you want to be called Mina when your name is Ami?'_

'_Please Mina. Don't get in trouble anymore.'_

'_Don't get in trouble anymore.'_

'_Please.'_

She woke up startled, sitting up in bed as sweat dripped down her forehead. She had the same reoccurring nightmare, again and again. She sighed heavily as she wiped away the sweat. The nightmare just wouldn't go away. It was here in Japan with her, just like it was with her in America. It was stupid of her to think that just moving to another country would make it go away.

She breathed slowly, listening to the drizzle of rain pelting her window sill. She closed her eyes and sighed once again. She got up, walking out of her bedroom to her kitchen.

Nights like this were always met with a cold glass of milk.

She gulped the whole glass down, wiping the remaining sweat on her forehead. It had always been a habit for her—every time she had nightmares, a glass of cold milk always calmed her down. She didn't know why—or maybe, she did. Her mother always gave her a glass of milk before she went to bed.

She sat on the kitchen stool, staring blankly at her empty glass. One glass was always enough to calm her down, but tonight, she had the urge to get more. Her craving was suddenly sparked, and she wanted another glass of milk. She got up, reaching into her refrigerator for milk. She bit her lip as she saw that she had enough for only half a glass of milk. She would have to buy it again this week at the market.

It was odd—the only time she had drank more than one glass of milk was when her parents died. She had been in grief—the ones who had always played with her, taught her, laughed with her. They were gone, and they were never coming back. It hit her like a bunch of rocks that had been hanging on a piece of thin string. Reality was a bitch.

She sighed in relief as she finished her half glass of milk. She gave a small smile of content as she dropped the glass in the sink, and walked over to her bedroom. Going back to bed, she couldn't help but feel that something bad was going to happen. Her sudden desire for milk a while ago had been ominous—she was going to lose something important to her.

What she was going to lose, she had no idea.

The thought haunted her ever so quietly in her dreams.

* * *

_Reviewers(;_

_foxflyer_** ll** xmarachanx** ll **SnowCharms **ll **FrozenVoices **ll **Gaara- aishiteru **ll **HPMagicLuvr **ll **naruto watching freak **ll **Lyris88 **ll **CatxRock07 **ll **missy4eva **ll** Tenten2295** ll** _chigirisasaki_** ll** .** ll **Musical Demon Obsessed Girl88 **ll **MissBrown22241 **ll** .debi.09.

Yay, I got this one out before school started! School starts tomorrow, by the way): Okay, so some reviewers asked a few questions, so I'll answer them here, if anyone else wonders the same questions, too.

_**What does Tenten have to do with Ami's parents being dead?  
**__That will be answered later on in the story, most likely when Hinata and the others find out what Tenten's hiding. She'll have to tell them everything, including her past, so it's likely that I'll explain what she has to do with Ami's parents._

_**Why doesn't Neji know that Sakura is coming back?  
**__He doesn't know because the others won't tell him. Cruel of them (and me, since I made it that way), but they have their reasons for it. They don't want him to be distracted from the present, and they don't want him to be stuck on the past._

_**Is Ami Tenten's friend Ayama talking about?  
**__I thought it was pretty obvious that she was, but since it seems not to be, yes, Ami is Tenten's friend Ayama is talking about. But if you guys didn't know, Ayama didn't mean friend as in friend, but meant friend as in the sarcastic friend, meaning that they're not really friends. …Hopefully you guys know what I'm trying to say d:_

_**Why would Tenten feel guilty of liking Neji when it was Sakura who left him in the first place?  
**__She knows that there's more to Sakura leaving Neji on purpose, and she feels that if they (Neji and Tenten) do get together, and Sakura comes back, she'll feel insecure, not knowing whether Neji's distracted by Sakura or not. After all, he still doesn't know that Sakura is coming back and Tenten never found out if he was over Sakura, like really over her._

Yeah, that's all the questions d: If you have anymore questions I'll be glad to answer them in the next chapter! :D Well, now you know one of the little 'twists' that I put in there. And if you forgot, Misaki is Kairi's brother. Just a heads up; since I haven't included him in some of the recent chapters.

This chapter's title is **Secret World** by **KARA**. Korean group again, sorry d:

_Review(; (andthankyou!,ifyoudo)  
_


	36. Jan 19, Fri

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Three**  
_Day One_

**Chapter Thirty-Six—**Only You

Tenten had no idea what she was doing. All she knew was that she couldn't take it anymore. The talk with Misaki had gotten her thinking—her friends were there for her, always there, by her side, and yet she couldn't talk about this simple thing with them. Tenten bit her lip as she chewed on the grapes nervously. Things had gotten so complicated—she wished that none of this happened.

Even though she wished for it, she knew it could not go back to the way it was. She sighed as she pushed the plate of grapes away. She looked through her contact list on her cell, and paused over the highlighted name, _Yamanaka Ino_. She thought about it—calling her now and asking her to go out to the café would be odd… Tenten sighed as she put away her cell phone. She would have to call Ino later.

Popping another grape in her mouth, she chewed on it thoughtfully. It was Friday night, and she had nothing to do. Truthfully, she didn't want to stay home tonight. She didn't trust herself to be alone. She'll only think of endless thoughts if she was.

Tenten got off her chair, and stepped out of her bedroom. It was the first time she'd been so willing to go out in a few days—the others had to either bribe her out or drag her out. She stopped walking in front of Neji's door. She was quite nervous: she didn't know what to do, she had only acted recklessly.

As if they had ESP, Neji opened his door. Surprise was written in his eyes—but it went as quickly as it came. Tenten smiled sheepishly at him, not knowing what to say. She scratched her head and made a gesture with her arms.

"Wanna go out somewhere?"

-

"I should've paid for you since you paid for me last time," Tenten whined as she licked her ice cream.

The two had left the house only a few minutes after Tenten's random request. Neji was unsure as to what was wrong with Tenten—and he didn't know how to approach the problem. They had gone to the same ice cream store that Neji had brought Tenten the other day.

"It doesn't matter," Neji said, not even looking at his ice cream.

He hadn't taken a lick since he had bought it—Tenten wondered if he even knew how to eat an ice cream. She giggled at that thought as her spirit brightened immensely.

Neji raised a brow, as he looked at Tenten giggling to herself. He had come to one conclusion: Tenten was very moody. One day, she would be sulking over something. The next, she would be laughing and talking with her friends and him. He didn't know what to make of her actions, and it was safe to say that he was confused.

All of a sudden, Tenten stopped giggling. She sighed as they sat on a nearby bench in a park. She knew that turning away from her problems wouldn't work—she knew that, and yet she continued to do so. She stretched, looking up at the dark night sky. No stars could be seen, since this _was _the city, and the lights prevented stars from being seen.

"What's wrong?" Neji's perceptive voice cut through the silence.

Tenten looked at Neji. She shrugged, shaking her head as she continued to lick her ice cream. "Nothing's wrong," she said.

'_That's a lie,' _Neji thought, but couldn't voice it out. He was never the one to voice out his thoughts completely.

"Why do you ask?" Tenten asked curiously.

"You're acting weird," was his blunt reply.

Tenten smiled a bit as she continued to lick her ice cream, which was an excellent excuse for not being able to retort back. She saw from the corner of her eye that Neji took a bite of the ice cream. They sat in silence for a while—just licking (or eating, in Neji's case…) their ice cream. It was a serene silence, one that Tenten (and possibly Neji) enjoyed.

"You didn't answer my question," Neji said.

"I thought I avoided that question fine," Tenten muttered to herself as she bit her cone. "Nothing's wrong, Neji. Are you actually worried for me?" Tenten asked teasingly, looking at Neji.

Not showing any trace of emotion of his face, he continued to eat his ice cream. "What's wrong, Tenten?" He asked sternly as he lowered his ice cream.

Tenten sighed as she too, lowered her ice cream. She looked up at the sky again, as if she was waiting for the stars to appear even though she knew they weren't going to show. "I'm just… confused," she said, trying to choose her words carefully so that she doesn't let anything slip up. "I don't know what to do sometimes."

Neji was still silent, as if that was his way to urge her to continue going. And it worked, too.

"Everything's so… confusing," she used the same word again, for the lack of better adjectives for what she was feeling. "It feels like I can't tell anyone _anything_, because I'm afraid that they'll misunderstand me…" She unconsciously licked her ice cream, thinking about her thoughts, and trying to word them correctly. "Maybe I'm just thinking about it too much. I feel like Hinata, Kairi and Ino will get," Tenten didn't want to use the word 'hurt', since that would provoke questions from Neji, "in trouble if I tell them everything."

"Just what is happening?" Neji asked.

"I don't know," Tenten said truthfully. "There's so many things going on, even I have no idea what's happening. It just doesn't make sense—a girl shows up out of no where, and I have no idea what her connection is to anything!" She said in frustration, chewing on the rest of her cone. "I could be paranoid, but I feel like anyone I see on the street is going to jump me any second if I make the wrong move. I don't know what to make of it, and it's so frustrating knowing that there's something missing in my head that I know that I can do to stop everything!"

"Calm down, Tenten," Neji said, his voice soothing Tenten somewhat.

She made a noise of annoyance as she finished up her cone. Neji finished up his cone as well. He stood up, slowly walking towards the swings with his hands in his pocket. Tenten watched curiously as he sat down on one of them. She wondered why he did this, but followed him nevertheless. She sat down in the swing next to him, remembering the day that she had been at the park.

"You really can't tell me what's happening?" Neji asked as he watched Tenten swing a bit.

Tenten bit her lip and shook her head. "I don't want you to worry." It was a lame excuse, but Tenten hoped that he would buy it.

And of course, things never went her way.

"Does it matter?" He asked, also swinging to his slow momentum. "I'm already worried even without you telling me what's wrong."

She should be shocked to actually hear this come out of his mouth—since everyone knew that Hyuuga Neji would never admit to something like that. But not Tenten: she felt warmhearted that he would admit something his emotional to her, since after all, all his confessions were written down.

When Tenten made no move to explain why, Neji sighed inaudibly. He didn't know how to help her. He wanted to do something for her just once—something to make her happy. If he couldn't help her, at least he could indirectly help her. "Talk to your friends," he stated as he stopped swinging.

Tenten blinked at Neji. Did he just give her advice? "What did you say?"

"If you're having troubles," Neji said, stating his advice in a different way, "then talk to your friends. Forget about what will happen to them for a bit; they're worried about what's happening with you."

Tenten blinked at him once again. "I think that's the longest sentence you've ever said." Neji narrowed his eyes at her, not finding her remark funny. Tenten broke out in a small smile, but it vanished as she realized something. "What do you mean that they're worried about me?"

"Hinata-sama has been worried lately," Neji explained. "Her stuttering has gotten worse when I spoke with her at times. I overheard Yamanaka and Hinata-sama talk over the phone about you, and what you've been hiding." He raised a brow at Tenten. "What have you been hiding?"

Tenten cursed under her breath. "I'm not hiding anything," she lied, looking at Neji in the eye. When she saw that he didn't believe her, she sighed. "Okay, fine, I've been hiding something. But I can't tell you just yet," Tenten said nervously.

Neji seemed satisfied with that—he was fine with her just telling him the truth of the matter. "Talk to them," he said again.

Tenten smiled. Coming out tonight with Neji was a good idea.

-

She rubbed her hands together before stuffing them in her jacket pocket. It was cold tonight, and it had gotten a lot colder when they left the Hyuuga Manor. As she breathed, she watched puffs of her breath in the air. She smiled at it, remembering the times when she was a kid.

She had been awed by the new discovery she made. It was probably when she was around 7, or 8 years old. Tenten had been confined to the orphan for most of her life, (until she was 9), and they were usually taught in the orphanage. The lady in charge hadn't let them go out in the winter time—she had said it was, "too cold" to be playing in the snow. Tenten had though otherwise, however. Even at a young age, she had the mind of an adult, knowing when they lied and when they were telling the truth.

When she _did _step out during the winter time, however, (she had snuck out when they weren't looking) she had made the discovery of seeing your own breath. She had hours playing in the cold, just breathing and watching her breath. She was eventually caught though—and had gotten quite sick after that adventure. Tenten hadn't regretted it at all, though. It was just another memorable memory at the orphanage.

"About the… park thing," Tenten started. She was nervous—she wanted to talk to Neji about his confession, but she always avoided it. "What you wrote on the playhouse…" Her heartbeat sped up, and her hands became clammy.

Neji didn't say anything, and Tenten didn't know whether he looked surprised or embarrassed. She was too embarrassed herself to look at him, so she kept it at that. "And what you wrote on the bandage… Did you really mean it?" Tenten asked.

Neji still didn't say anything. Tenten was got worried—she knew she shouldn't have said anything in the first place. "Yes," he said at last, breaking Tenten out of her frantic thoughts. "I did mean it," he said quietly.

Tenten smiled a bit as she brought up her hand to her face and swept the loose bangs away from her face. Her arm fell beside her, trying to cool it down by letting the icy wind hit it continuously.

"You have an answer?" Neji asked, turning around to face her.

Tenten bit her lip. She had been wondering this for a while now—she wanted to, yet she didn't want to. Which one to choose? She still didn't know by now. "…I think," she said slowly, her eyes were directed to the ground. "I still need time to think about it for now," she said, slowly looking up into Neji's eyes. She saw that he had no expression on his face—as if he knew that that was coming. "But," she said, as Neji started to make a move to walk again. "I think I like you too," Tenten breathed out, whispering it so softly that if the wind hadn't died down when she said that, it would have been missed.

The corners of Neji's lips seemed to quirk upwards. "Let's go," Neji said.

Tenten smiled at the fact that Neji didn't continue to stay on the topic—she would have died from embarrassment if Neji had pestered (which she cannot see Neji doing) on why she liked him. She can see why Neji only confessed in writing.

Their hands bumped together, but Tenten took no note of it. She was too wrapped up in her own thoughts, happy that she had at least gotten something off of her mind. She felt the weight on her shoulder dissipate a little, and she was grateful for that.

When she felt a hand wrap around her own, she looked up in shock at Neji. He continued to have the façade—there was no emotion on his face. "Your hand was cold," was his explanation.

Tenten smiled as they continued to walk back home, hand in hand.

-

"N-Neji-niisan?" Hinata's voice came from behind Neji and Tenten. "T-Tenten??"

The two of them turned around, and saw a shocked Hinata. They were already in the Hyuuga Manor, but Neji hadn't released his hold on Tenten's hand. They were in the hallway of their rooms, to be more specific, and Hinata was just arriving from a visit to her father's office.

Hinata didn't know what to say—she didn't even know how to react. It was just odd—she had always hoped that this would happen, that Neji would come home with Tenten's hand in his hand, but this quickly? And especially after Tenten's avoidance of him? It was just confusing.

"A-Are you two…?"

"Good night, Hinata-sama," Neji said curtly, cutting Hinata off.

He let go of Tenten's hand, and went to his room without a second glance at Tenten. Tenten didn't mind, however—she was too busy trying to think of an excuse to tell Hinata. When she realized that she had Hinata's full attention, she laughed sheepishly.

"Uh, I can explain everything?" She said unsurely. She suddenly had a grin on her face—this was the perfect moment for her to invite Hinata to the café. "Hey, Hinata!" Hinata blinked at Tenten, wondering why there was this sudden burst of energy in her. "Come tomorrow to the café we went to yesterday, at 12," was all Tenten said before disappearing into her own room.

Hinata was left alone in the hallway, wondering what had happened. "Neji-niisan and Tenten holding h-hands," she repeated to herself softly, as if she didn't believe it.

Tenten sighed in her bedroom—at least she could wait out the explanation to Hinata till tomorrow. No doubt about it that Hinata would probably call Ino and Kairi to inform them what she had just seen. Taking action quickly, she grabbed her cell phone as she jumped onto her bed. She quickly called Ino and Kairi telling them the same thing that she had told Hinata just minutes ago.

"Oh my god, is it really you? Tenten? Calling _me_? Kairi? Are you serious? I'm not dreaming right? This is real? Oh, pinch me Misaki, I think I'm—what the fuck, why the hell did you pinch me?! _(You said to pinch you!)_ I was fucking kidding! I've got a fucking retard for a brother that's just great—fuck my eye!! Did you just throw a fucking book at me?! You bastard—"

"As much as I love to break up your sibling arguments," Tenten said with a smile, "but I have something to tell you, Kairi."

"Shut up!" Kairi screamed over the phone. There was a shuffling sound, plus a slamming of what seemed like a door. "Okay, I got rid of that idiot. Now, what did you want to say?"

"Meet me by the café that we went to yesterday at 12."

"Ohh, finally you're going to tell us something," Tenten could imagine the grin on Kairi's face right now. "Okay, I'll be there ten minutes earlier just because you're finally spilling to us."

Tenten laughed as they both bid their goodbyes. She called Ino next, who was just as sarcastic as Kairi.

"Wow, I must be dreaming. Tenten calling someone? That's new. And you're supposedly avoiding everyone, too! Is it just me, or what?" Ino's sarcasm came through the speakers.

Tenten smiled, "Kairi's sarcasm is rubbing off of you, Ino. How many times did you hang out with her?"

"Too many times to count," Ino said tiredly. "Seriously Tenten, _please _come back to us! Do you know how many times I was the victim of Kairi's boredom? _Do you?! _Well if you didn't know, it was _too many times_! Just look at the way I talk now! It's all sarcasm, and it's because of _her_!!" Ino cried over the phone.

"I-Ino," Tenten said, quite amused that her friend was in this sort of predicament. "Calm down. You won't become the victim of Kairi's boredom anymore—meet me by the café that we went to yesterday at 12."

"Yes! Finally!" Ino cheered.

Tenten laughed as they said their byes. She hung up, and laid on her bed, not wanting to change out of her clothes. Slowly, she felt her eyes droop—it was a tiring day, with schoolwork and all, and she just wanted to sleep. With that in thought, sleep took over her body.

-

"Where are they?" Tenten muttered to herself as she drummed her fingers on the intricately decorated patterned table. "They're twenty minutes late!"

"Don't worry," Hinata said quietly. Though she wasn't as angry as Tenten, she was sort of nervous for Kairi and Ino. They weren't the type of people to show up thirty minutes after the planned time. "T-They're probably stuck in traffic," Hinata said, offering an acceptable excuse.

"They better be," Tenten grumbled.

Not a second later did Tenten hear the bell jingle signaling that someone had entered the café. "Sorry we're late," Ino said breathlessly as she rushed to sit down next to Hinata. "The traffic was _horrible_," Ino said, with a roll of her eyes to exaggerate the fact.

Kairi followed shortly, sitting down next to Tenten with a snort. "That's a total lie right there; I met her on my way here and she was busy _shopping_," Kairi said with a sly tone, smirking at Ino. She glared back at her for ratting her out. "Well, you should've seen all those sale posters!" Ino cried, trying to defend herself. "And the traffic _was _bad, since I could've made it on time if those stupid cars moved out of the way," Ino grumbled.

Tenten laughed, her previous annoyance disappearing. Hinata smiled out of relief, knowing that they were alright. "I'm going to go get something," Kairi said as she frowned, "I didn't get the chance to eat breakfast yet!" She whined as she left for the counter.

"Get me something too!" Ino shouted to Kairi, who only gave a wave back. Ino leaned closer to Tenten and Hinata, eyeing Kairi's back. "Since she ratted me out, I'll rat her out too. She barely woke up on time—I met her when she still had bed head and when she was still carrying her shoe." Ino sat back with a satisfied smile as Tenten tried not to laugh.

"I-I don't get why you two have this rivalry," Hinata said with a soft smile.

"When she stops her sarcasm, I'll stop this," Ino said with a smirk, similar to the one Kairi had before. "And besides, Kairi's always the one starting it."

"I beg to differ," she said, sitting back down in her seat. "It wouldn't be that much of a big deal if _someone_," she said dryly, staring at Ino, "didn't take things too far."

Before Ino could say things, however, Hinata interrupted them. "Kairi, I think your food is ready," she said, pointing to the counter.

"Go get your own food," Kairi said, standing up. "I don't have four arms."

"But you do seem to have four mouths," Ino muttered her breath as she followed Kairi.

Choosing not to answer that, Kairi pretended that she didn't hear. Tenten grinned at Ino's remark, and Hinata giggled a bit. Satisfied with her comment, Ino flaunted to the counter.

"So, why'd you call us here?" Kairi asked when they came back with their food. The previous argument seemed to have vanished into air, without a trace of it in their tones as Ino and Kairi looked and spoke to each other.

"Well…" Tenten started, not sure how she was going to tell them. She bit her lip and sighed as she saw that the two of them (Ino and Kairi) were staring at her intently. "I saw… a person that I knew a few days ago," Tenten said, not sure if she should call Ami her 'friend'.

"Was that why you dropped your cup yesterday?" Hinata asked quietly as she stirred her cup of hot chocolate.

"Kind of," Tenten admitted. "I thought that I saw some of her people—it's a long story," Tenten said as she saw Ino's confused look.

"People?" Kairi raised a brow as she chewed on her food thoughtfully. "Do you mean the people that took you into that warehouse?"

"Well, those were Ayama's people," as Tenten said this; she noticed that Ino's eyes narrowed. "The people that I thought I saw were from another person."

"Who's the other person? You make her sound so mysterious," Kairi said, not noticing Ino's odd quietness. Or rather, choosing not to ask about it.

"Her name was Ami," and it all came pouring out. "She was one of the daughters that my adoptive parents at that time had. Her parents—they were… kind of stressed out a lot," Tenten said unsurely. It was rather hard to describe them in words. "They had four children, three girls and one boy. The boy was about 11 at the time I was with them, and he had a twin. The youngest was a girl about 9. Ami was the oldest, at 13. Ami and I were close—almost like best friends, but not really," Tenten chuckled at the memory of them fighting and arguing with each other. "Then one day… she found out that her youngest sister was diagnosed with some sort of disease. Something like cancer, but I'm not really sure. Her parents freaked out, like any other parents. When her sister died… I guess her parents just couldn't take it anymore."

"They committed suicide?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah," Tenten said. "They came to me to ask for help with something. They asked me to go to the pharmacy to get them something, and it was already too late when I realized what they were planning…" Tenten trailed off as she reminisced what had happened.

They were pleading her to get it for them. Tenten didn't know why, and she didn't really want to go to the pharmacy to get them something when they themselves were doctors and could get it easily. She had been annoyed—they looked like they were on the verge of death, like they couldn't live without the pills that they were asking her to get for them. It was only then she knew what she bought. She hadn't paid attention to the weird look the pharmacist gave her when the pharmacist had given her the pills—Tenten had just wanted to go home and sleep.

It was only then when she ran to the sound of Ami's screams that she found her adoptive parents dead, on the floor, with a bottle of bills laying next to them.

"Ami never forgave me," Tenten said as she drank her own coffee. "She blamed me for her parents' deaths, and had somehow brainwashed her siblings to think that way, too. I guess I _was_ the reason why they died…" Tenten said as she sighed.

"It wasn't your fault," Hinata said quietly as she tried to comfort Tenten. Kairi nodded along with Hinata, and Ino stayed quiet. "You were just a kid," Kairi said.

"Well to this day, she never forgave me. And apparently, she made new friends," Tenten muttered. "Ayama?" Ino quirked up, finally saying something. Tenten nodded. "She said an old friend was going to see me—I had no idea she was talking about Ami. When I did meet her, she was just so… eager to see me break in front of her eyes," Tenten repressed a shudder as she continued. "And I saw her goons yesterday."

"Did you fight?" Kairi asked with bubbling excitement.

"K-Kairi!" Hinata semi-shouted.

Kairi shrugged. "What, I'm just asking! I bet you ran away though," Kairi gave Tenten an all-knowing grin.

Tenten nodded. "It was like what, 15 against 1? I'm amazed that I even ran out of there alive," Tenten muttered, playing with her napkin.

"W-Why are you so quiet, Ino?" Hinata asked, looking over at Ino's thoughtful expression.

"I was just thinking…" Ino said softly. "Sakura was also targeted by Ayama…"

Kairi looked down and Hinata looked away. It was a memory that the three didn't want to remember—which Tenten was confused to.

"She couldn't defend herself, unlike you, Tenten," Ino explained quietly. "It was probably fear. Hell, if I was in that situation I wouldn't move anything for the fear of getting killed. But they would never beat her to death—they would always just injure her enough to land her in the hospital for a few days." Ino frowned as she looked up at Tenten with worried eyes. "It was scary how they knew where she would be at all times."

Tenten lowered her eyes. She was somewhat right about her suspicions. It was obvious that the same thing had happened to her and Sakura—the girl that got close to him only got hurt. Was this another one of those reasons why she moved?

"Be careful, Tenten," Hinata said softly, her tone full of concern.

Tenten gave her a smile as she nodded her head. "I'll just beat them up like last time," she said with a grin, trying to lighten up the mood.

It didn't work out so well.

Tenten sighed quietly as she slumped down in her seat. The topic of Sakura made everyone silent and depressed. The only sound in the café that Tenten could hear was the jingle of the bell—and it jingled a lot as time went by. The silence though, was broken as Kairi asked a curious question.

"Ami still holds a grudge on you, and she would go as far as to send people out to get you. But why? I think there's a deeper meaning to this than just revenge for her parents…" Kairi trailed off, as she thought of the possibilities.

"She did say something about Sakura," Tenten said, remembering the words she said about Sakura.

"She knows Sakura," Ino concluded, sitting up straight. "And she probably thinks that you're interfering with them if she saw you two together a lot, which explains—"

"Which explains why she's sending people after you," Kairi cut into Ino's thought as she nodded her head, not noticing Ino's glare. "It makes sense."

Tenten didn't believe how obvious the reason was. "And since Sakura's coming back soon… I'm guessing she wants me rid of sooner, so Sakura doesn't have any troubles," Tenten said to herself out loud.

"That makes sense too…" Kairi said, nodding again.

Ino sighed after a minute of silence. She wasn't really the type to brood over things—but she did have her share of a depressed state once in a while. Even when Sakura left unexpectedly, she had been back to her normal self in a week, which was less than it took the others to get over. "Let's get out of this serious mood," she said. "So Tenten," with a sly smile, she leaned in, "what's happening with Neji?"

Tenten blinked at Ino. It was weird—one minute she was sad over Sakura, and the other minute she was trying to pry out information about Neji from Tenten. Kairi rolled her eyes and Hinata smiled a little. The depressed mood disappeared.

"Uh…" Tenten looked around nervously as she wondered what to say. She hadn't planned on talking about this with them—but she might as well do.

"Oh, just spill it, Hinata told us everything," Kairi said with a wicked grin.

Tenten looked at Hinata with wide eyes. "How could you??" She cried. "I thought you didn't gossip!"

Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but Ino cut her off. "Oh, don't blame Hinata. We dragged it out of her," she said with a proud smile. "It's pretty obvious when Hinata's trying to hide someone's juicy secret. She stutters a whole lot," Ino said with a laugh.

Tenten frowned as she poked her bread with her finger. She lost her appetite when they were talking about Ami and Sakura. "Well, you know what he did so…"

"Oh just tell us," Kairi said. "We know that you left the house in the morning two days ago and then Neji left after you, and Hinata told us that she saw you two hold hands in the hallway~," Kairi said in a sing-song voice.

Tenten blushed—she knew that Hinata would tell them. "It was nothing big," Tenten muttered as she looked down at her unfinished food. Trying to make an excuse that she couldn't talk, she stuffed bread after bread into her mouth.

"Stop eating like a pig, Tenten!" Ino cried out of disgust.

The food was done—there was no more excuse as to why she couldn't explain. Tenten sighed as she sipped her coffee. "It was cold," Tenten said, shrugging. "So he held my hand…" She blushed again at the memory. His hand was gentle when he held her hand—no, she wasn't going to think about something like _that_ around here.

"She's blushing!" Ino cried with happiness.

"No I'm not!" Tenten said as her face got redder. "Let's go somewhere; it's too hot in here."

"Suit yourself," Ino shrugged as she grinned at Tenten. "Let's go shopping!"

"Nice job Tenten, you got her on a shopping craze."

-

"You seem a lot better today," Neji commented as they walked down the park.

It was the second night that they had done this. Tenten had came to him again after she came back, immensely bored with nothing to do in the Hyuuga Manor. It was to her luck that Neji seemed to be finished with whatever he was doing.

"Yeah," Tenten said with a smile as she sat down on the same swing she sat on yesterday night.

They sat in silence for a while, before Tenten spoke up.

"What would you do… if Sakura came back?" Tenten asked in a quiet voice. She wanted to know the answer, and she wanted to know the answer now. It was selfish of her to want to know Neji's innermost feelings.

Neji didn't seem shocked by the question, nor did he seem to hear the question. Tenten peered over him curiously, wondering if he heard her or not.

"If she came back…" Neji started. "I don't know what I would do," he admitted.

"Do you still like her?" Tenten asked curiously.

It seemed like it was the longest silence of her life. She didn't realize that she was holding her breath until she released it after he said that one word.

"No."

-

"And then he screamed a very girly scream," Tenten concluded, nodding her head with a smile. "I don't see why he's so scared though, it was only frog juice," she said while rolling her eyes.

The two were walking back home to the Hyuuga Manor—quite slowly, too. Tenten didn't want to notice the fact that five minutes had already passed and they still weren't on the next block yet. Neji didn't seem like he was bothered by the fact—though, Tenten could never tell what he was thinking.

"I wanted to shove the frog up his nose when I heard his scream," Tenten commented with a slight laugh.

"And you were expelled from school like that?" There was a hint of doubt in Neji's tone.

"Of course not. I got expelled for starting a frog fight," Tenten laughed at the memory. "I got lectured about how that was animal cruelty. If they know about animal cruelty, why dissect dead frogs?" Tenten rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the idea.

"Frog fight," Neji mused. "That's something new."

"And the principal didn't like that," she said with a sigh. "Next thing you know, I'm back in that office because my adoptive parents disowned me," she said wistfully. "But, I didn't like them anyways. So, all ends that ends well, right? Or else I wouldn't have gone through all those foster homes and end up here with you," Tenten said with a wide smile. She stopped herself from talking even more when she realized what she had blurted out. It sounded too—what was the word? Corny? Romantic?

Thanking the world that the sun had already set and it was dark it, Tenten stared at the ground, not wanting to talk anymore. She buried her mouth into her scarf—or rather, Neji's scarf. Tenten blushed furiously as she inhaled Neji's scent on the scarf.

Tenten waited for Neji to break the silence (even if it was unlikely). She took advantage of the silence—she thought about how she could tell Neji how she felt. She didn't want it to be overly embarrassing—telling him that she wanted go out with him was too humiliating for her. Not to mention that she'd turn tomato red like how Hinata turns around Naruto.

She looked around a bit, to see where they were. They were near the Hyuuga Manor now.

Walking up the through the gates silently, Tenten still debated on what she should do. They were in the hallway now—she hadn't noticed that they had climbed up the stairs already. They walked silently through the hallways, hearing only the sounds of their walking.

As Neji nodded to Tenten as a farewell gesture, Tenten acted on impulse as she grabbed him when he turned around. It was a little shocking for Neji—since he had no idea that that was going to happen. He didn't let it show, however. He was only confused as to why she grabbed him. She could've called out his name, but instead, she grabbed him.

Swiftly completing what she thought up on impulse, Tenten tiptoed and gave Neji a light kiss on the lips. She blushed a bright red as she turned away quickly, running to her room. Neji was left in the hallway, shocked at Tenten had given him a kiss. The slam of Tenten's door brought him back to reality.

As he walked to his own room, he pondered. He wondered what had Tenten been thinking when she was doing that—or, if she was really thinking at all.

Unbeknownst to him, a small smile worked its way to his face as he shut his door quietly.

-

"I must be crazy," Tenten muttered to herself as she threw herself on her bed. She closed her eyes, waiting for her thumping heart to calm down.

She herself didn't know what she had done—she merely did it on impulse. She didn't want to see a perfectly good chance like that wasted, even if it _was_ poorly done. Tenten opened her eyes and stared at the white ceiling.

Very much like Neji, a smile made its way to her face as she drifted off to sleep.

-

"_We'll be home soon, don't worry. We have pizza for dinner—I know how much you love that."_

"_I'm sorry. We were too late…"_

"_This can't be happening."_

"_Don't worry; they're in a better place…"_

"_How can this happen? I was talking to them just a few hours ago!"_

"_Don't cry, I'm here for you. If you cry, I'll cry."_

"_I want to die, Ami… How can they leave me by myself?"_

"_I'm sorry. We were too late…"_

"_We were too late…"_

"…_too late…"_

She gasped. She gripped on her blanket, and gripped it harder as she tried to grasp what had happened. Her knuckles turned white quickly as her hands started to shake. She released her grasp as she sat up slowly in bed.

It was another nightmare—the same as the nightmare from a week ago. How she remembered her nightmares, she had no idea. It always seemed like she remembered them right after she was awaken by them—but when she woke up after she went back to bed again, she never remembered.

She sighed softly as she got up from bed. She needed milk.

She could hear her slippers hitting against the wooden floor quietly with slight rain in the background. She looked at the window as she passed it—it was hard to see anything in the dark at this time. She thought back to the weather she watched on the news. Yes, it was going to rain—thunderstorm, if one wanted to be accurate.

Opening her refrigerator, she noticed that she was out of milk. To this, she sighed with annoyance. She had forgotten to buy it two nights ago. Between juggling school and a part time job, she had no time to buy groceries. Looking through the food, she sighed as she grabbed a pen and paper. Listing what she needed for her next grocery trip at 3 in the morning didn't seem like a nuisance to her—she need something to get her mind off of.

"Tomatoes, carrots, eggs, milk…" She muttered to herself as she quickly scribbled it down.

She yawned as she left the piece of paper on the counter. All she wanted to now was sleep. Sleep all day and all night was once her dream, but she knew that sleeping more than 5 hours would trigger something in her mind to replay her nightmares.

She felt the same way she did a few days ago—when she had wanted that extra glass of milk. Instead, there was no milk there anymore. She could tell that this was a sign.

Milk was her comfort source. The milk wasn't there.

Did that mean her comfort source—other than milk—would be gone?

Even though she had a strong desire to sleep, that thought kept her awake all night, worrying about what other horrible thing would happen next.

-

_Reviewers!(:_

_chigirisasaki_ **ll **Gaara- aishiteru **ll **CatxRock07 **ll **HPMagicLuvr **ll **SnowCharms **ll **Hiwiwy **ll **foxflyer **ll** naruto watching freak **ll **FrozenVoices **ll** Malika-chan **ll ****ll** XoTentenXgurlXo101 **ll** _RUNOS SISTER_

I would've gotten this out earlier today, but I got distracted along the way… hey that rhymed d; Well anyways, this is an oddly long chapter for me (: I want to clear something up for you guys: at the last scene, in italics, that is when (censoredbecauseofspoiler) is having a dream. And also, each quote shows isn't like a continuing scene, it's just like random parts (or dialogue, in this case) of an event. Also, some I think one quote is repeated, so don't get confused! Even though I think some of you might… I didn't really write it in a clear way, did I? ;x

This chapter is so… bleh. Some parts of it I didn't like, but I'm keeping that to myself(: What those parts are, I mean. The title is **Only You** by **2PM**. Korean bands have the weirdest group names ever. Oh well, they're still cute d; If you google Nichkhun from 2PM, you won't regret it! That Thai is too cute for words(: Eheh, they were another reason why I couldn't finish this chapter quicker—they kind of distracted me (: Watch Idol Show Season 3 if you're bored and have nothing to do; it's hilarious xD

Ahh, I'm totally scared of the swine flu): If I don't update in a year (and that includes updating my profile!), then you can assume that I caught the swine flu D:

d; Okay, I seem to be excited about questions these days; so who cares if they're rhetorical, I'll still answer them!

**When is Sakura coming back?  
**_She's coming back… in a few weeks (in February). The exact date is (censoredbecauseofspoiler). (:_

And _SnowCharms_, if your question hadn't been answered in this chapter, then… it will be answered in the next chapter! :D

_Only you~ can review, lol. My poor attempt at fitting the lyrics in with my plead… d; please and thankyou!_


	37. Jan 21, Sun

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Three**  
_Day Three_

**Chapter Thirty-Seven—**TPL

"_Tenten…" He murmured as he came closer to her._

_He was close—a little too close for comfort. But she didn't back away—oh no, she leaned forward slowly, as if she was entranced by his mesmeric voice, as if it was beckoning her to him._

"_Neji," she breathed as her lips her less than a millimeter away from his._

_He stared at her with a glint in his eye—lust? She couldn't really tell, nor had she been focusing on his eyes. She was too busy staring at his lips, too mesmerized by his scent. It took all her power not to grab him and launch a full make-out session, knowing fully well that Neji didn't like taking disadvantage of her._

_She was slowly closing her eyes—she waited for the impact of his lips, crushing on hers like they had always done. She waited and waited—how come it didn't come? She felt his breath on her face, so why didn't she feel his lips? Not wanting to open her eyes, she took initiative and leaned forward. It was to her surprise that she felt nothing—just air._

_She frowned to herself as she opened her eyes slowly. That was odd—Neji was never the type to disappear in thin air. Plus, the minute she opened her eyes was the minute she felt Neji's breath on her face, gone. She looked around, wondering where he went._

_Getting up from whatever she was sitting on (she hadn't taken the time to bother looking around where she was), she looked around, searching for Neji. Suddenly, she heard a girl's laugh. It was musical—a laugh at brought a bit of jealously to her heart. She didn't know why, but she felt in awe (and jealous) of the laugh._

_Then she smelled it. In any other situation, she would've felt creeped out by the fact that she could actually smell his scent, but here she was, inhaling it. She seemed to be consumed by his scent—up, down, left, right—it was everywhere she turned. She wouldn't have minded it at all—not at all, except for the fact that there was another scent. She couldn't describe this one, but it had a smell of cherry blossoms to it. it smelled sweet—the two scents intertwined, and the product of it was like a whole new fragrance._

"_Neji…?" She muttered, as she saw Neji, far off in the distance._

_She knew her vision wasn't good. So, why was she able to see Neji? She squinted a bit, for she could not see the person next to him. She opened her mouth to shout out something, but she was cut off by the same musical laugh. When she tried again, the same thing happened. It seemed like the laughter wouldn't stop, and Neji was just beside the unidentified being, looking content._

_She began to grow irritated—why was she always getting cut off by that laughter? She tried again—only this time, she succeeded. But instead, it was blocked out by the laughter. Fighting the urge to not scream in frustration, she bit her lip as she took a deep breath. She looked up, ready to try again, but this time, she noticed that he had gotten significantly closer. He was getting closer, and closer. One more step, and he'd be right in front of her—but no. That wasn't what happened. He walked right past her, hand in hand with the blurred image of what seemed like a girl._

_And then she heard a sound—similar to what a glass would make if it was dropped on the floor._

* * *

"Be careful with that!" The cook semi-shouted.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The maid cried, clasping her hands together, giving the cook an apologetic look. "I didn't mean to drop the glass plate on the floor!"

"Be quiet!" He hissed, as he looked around, listening for any movements by the Hyuuga Family. "Don't shout, you'll wake them up!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The maid cried again, but in a smaller voice.

The cook nodded his head, rubbing his temples as he waved for another maid to clean up the mess. He looked at the maid who caused the mess, and shook his head at her when she gave him another apologetic look. "Look, just… handle," he thought for a moment. There wasn't really any job she could do without ruining everything else around her. "Just handle dusting the hallways," he said, as he nodded to another maid, for a confirmation of something.

The maid in front of him nodded rapidly. "I'll do it really well!"

"And don't break anything," he stressed as he rubbed his temples again.

* * *

Tenten woke up with a jolt, as she heard a noise. Her breath was un-even as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She laid back down slowly as she stared up at the ceiling, trying to remember why she was even sweating in the first place. It wasn't that hot—it wasn't hot at all. And then she remembered—that dream of Neji.

She closed her eyes as she rested her hand on her forehead. She sighed quietly, her mind wondering back to the dream. It was weird—she only remembered parts of it, like the kinky beginning. She blushed—she was never the type to have those kinds of dreams. The only other part she remembered was when Neji and that girl—she had a suspicion that it was Sakura, but she wasn't quite sure—walked past her. It hurt a bit that Neji would ignore her that easily.

"Why am I even thinking about this…?" Tenten asked herself in a quiet voice, as she snuggled into her pillow.

Yes; it was best to just put it out of sight, and out of mind.

­-

"Took you long enough," Tenten grumbled as she saw Neji walk down the stairs.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "What did you say?"

"I said," she said, in a much clearer (and more annoyed) voice, "that it took you long enough. You took longer than I did Neji," she said distastefully, looking at him in the corner of her eye. "What do you do in the bathroom, exactly?"

He half-smirked as his hand slipped comfortably into hers. "Tenten, you don't ask a guy what he does in their bathroom," he said as they started walking.

"Oh come on, what, you masturbate in there?" Tenten scoffed as she stuck her other hand in her jacket pocket, shielding it away from the icy wind. "I know you that you don't do that in the bathroom."

"And how would you know?" Neji asked with a smirk. "Maybe I do. Are you saying that you're spying on me whenever I'm in the bathroom?"

Tenten blushed a faint red at the image of Neji taking a shower. Immediately shaking her head, she muttered a quick, "no," before they ended their conversation.

"Aw, look at the two love birds!"

Tenten whipped her head around, wondering who was walking behind them. "Kiba!" She shouted in recognition as she saw his face. Neji hadn't bothered turning around, since he was long accustomed to Kiba's voice.

"Where are you going?" Tenten asked, finding it quite hard to talk to the people behind her while at the same time, walk in front.

"I'm heading to Shino's place," Kiba explained, catching up to Tenten and Neji rather quickly. "We have to work on a project," he said with an annoyed tone. "But at least I got Shino. A+ for me baby." Kiba said with a wicked grin.

Tenten laughed along with him, while Neji had on his stoic face. Kiba gave him a sly grin as he saw the look on his face. "What's the matter Neji? Sad that I took Tenten's attention away from you?" He laughed as they stopped on the corner of a street. Before Neji could say anything, Kiba waved good-bye. "Well, I'm off here. See you later!" Kiba yelled, running the red light.

Tenten took a look on Neji's face—but of course, she couldn't see what he was thinking about. it had been impossible to see if he actually liked her, or if he actually had any interest in her. She had doubted his liking of her at first, since he had shown no signs of change in his behaviors towards her after their 'kiss'. It was then she started to doubt if she liked him as well—but he had taken her hand with a reassuring squeeze when they were alone, or when no one else was looking.

Thought he never said that they were together, Tenten felt like it didn't need to be said. This was enough for her—the quick light kiss (it was only once—on the forehead, when she fell asleep. Though she hadn't really been asleep—she was just too nervous with Neji around and hadn't known what to do except for closing her eyes) and the occasional hand holding.

"Hey guys!" Kairi shouted, as she opened the door.

Tenten blinked, wondering how they had gotten here so quickly. Still feeling Neji's hand on hers, she looked at him strangely—he had always let go of her hand when someone showed up. This time was different, though.

Kairi didn't seem to notice as she pushed the door open wider for them to step in. "It's so cold outside," Kairi commented as she stuck her head out. She shivered as she slammed the door shut, stopping the cold air from getting into the house.

There were greets from everywhere, and Tenten greeted them back. When she had let go of Neji's hand while giving him an apologetic smile, she ran off to where she found Kairi, Hinata and Ino. Ino obviously noticed that the two were holding hands—and she gave her a knowing grin. Tenten rolled her eyes as she accepted the drink the Hinata held out to her.

"So what are we doing?" Tenten asked, wondering why Kairi had suddenly called her over.

"Well since you two took your sweet time to get here," Kairi said, her sarcasm rolling off her tongue, "we made sushi," she said proudly, sticking the plate of sushi underneath Tenten's nose.

Instinctively, Tenten backed away and held her nose. "What is with the smell!? Are those rotten or what?!"

Kairi rolled her eyes as she put the plate of sushi down. "Oh silly Tenten. It's wasabi," Kairi said, popping one in her mouth with a satisfied grin.

Ino gulped, inching away a bit slowly. Hinata smiled nervously, while Tenten just stared at her. "Why wasabi…?"

"It's good," was all she said.

* * *

"Okay, let's play a game," Ino said with a sly grin, as she made the group sit in a circle.

"We're not playing truth and dare," Shikamaru said lazily, yawning. Ino had painfully waken him from his nap near the window—there was now a rather red hand print on his arm. "How troublesome."

"We're not playing that!" Ino snapped. Giving him a light kiss on the cheek to apologize for what she did earlier, she went back to her declaration. "Anyways, let's play 'Never have I ever."

"Instead of drinks," Kairi said, right after Ino. "You have to eat sushi!" She said, holding out her plate of sushi.

Naruto nodded along, getting what was happening. "Okay! It's just sushi! What's so bad about sushi?"

Tenten chuckled nervously as she moved closer to Hinata, who was her comfort zone. "Think we can get out of this?" She whispered to Hinata nervously. Hinata shook her head just as nervously when she saw the proud look on Kairi's face. "She seems determined…" Hinata said quietly to Tenten. Tenten sighed as she pulled away from Hinata, sitting back in her original spot.

"Okay, so we'll just go around in a circle. You have your plates of sushi, so we're all set! Tenten, you start," Kairi said with a grin.

"Who said we agreed to playing?" Sasuke asked, glaring at Kairi.

She glared back with equal force—no one dared to speak a word. A sigh was heard coming out of Sasuke's mouth as he muttered a, "whatever" to her. Kairi smiled when she had won, waving her hand as s signal to continue.

"Never have I ever… watched porn before," Tenten said with a grin. She knew that this would knock most of the boys out with the wasabi sushi.

Looking around the circle, she was quite shocked at the few people who ate the sushi. Ino had guiltily brought it up to her mouth—she was paying more attention to the green covered sushi than to the stares she got from everyone else. "Stop staring!" She snapped. So, maybe she did realize that everyone was staring at her. "It was an accident, okay? I walked in while Kakashi-sensei had that image pulled up of—"

"Excuses, excuses!" Kairi said. "Just eat the sushi already!"

Ino stared at the sushi intensely as she bit her lip. Bringing it close to her mouth, she smelled the scent of the wasabi. Quickly pulling away, she gave a noise a disgust as she shook her head. "I'm not doing it. This is disgusting!"

"What's so bad about it?" Naruto asked, not realizing that it was _wasabi_ that was covering the sushi. "It's looks great!" He popped it in his mouth, for he was also one of the people who had watched porn. Not even a second later did he start screeching. "Water!" He yelled, clutching his throat.

"Dobe," Sasuke scoffed as he crossed him arms and looked away.

Seeing as though no one was going to give him water, Naruto ran to the kitchen. The faucet was heard, and it was running about a good five minutes. Kairi, sneaking a glance at Ino staring at the sushi, took the initiative to slam the sushi into Ino's mouth.

Not knowing what hit her, the spiciness entered her mouth. Ino widened her eyes—she wasn't able to scream like Naruto, but she was waving on hand around while the other was over the mouth. Like Naruto, she ran to the kitchen to save her mouth.

Kairi had cracked up laughing at Ino's reaction. "That's all that watched porn? Are you guys serious?"

"How troublesome," Shikamaru said, as he popped a sushi into his mouth. Kairi was patiently waiting for his expression. Tenten, who was also curious, leaned forward to see his reaction. Kairi narrowed her eyes as he didn't have any, "Damn genius," she muttered as sighed.

Ino walked back quietly, her face full of disgust as Naruto trailed behind her, wiping his mouth. Seeing Sasuke's full plate, Naruto narrowed his eyes, pointing accusingly at Sasuke. "Teme! You didn't eat your sushi!" He shouted, causing everyone to stare at Sasuke.

He narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "Dobe shut up," Sasuke hissed, as he kept his glare at Naruto.

Kairi smiled evilly as Ino burst out laughing, forgetting what had happened earlier. "Uchiha Sasuke, watching _porn_?!"

"Since you didn't eat it when you were supposed to, now you have to eat _two_~." Kairi sang out.

"Uchiha watching porn," Neji smirked to himself.

"Shut up Hyuuga," Sasuke directed his glare at Neji this time. "You're the only guy here who didn't watch porn—are you a girl, or something?" He asked mockingly, as he shoved two sushis into his mouth, not afraid of the spiciness.

Kairi waited patiently for the reaction, but was once again disappointed as Sasuke didn't even flinch at the spiciness. Neji narrowed his eyes at Sasuke, "No. I just don't bother wasting my time on trivial things," he said, turning away from Sasuke, signaling the end of the conversation.

Sasuke was about to say something, but Hinata had cut him off, not wanting them to have another argument. "I-I guess it's my turn," she said quickly, avoiding the eyes of the Uchiha. "Never have I ever… shaved," Hinata said lamely, for she couldn't come up with something better.

Ino glared at Hinata, wondering why everyone was against her today. She begrudgingly put one in her mouth. Of course, the results would always be her running towards the kitchen. Naruto looked around nervously, plopping one of the sushi into his mouth discreetly.

"You shave?" Kairi's voice stopped Naruto's chewing. He was caught.

He nodded slowly, as he resumed chewing.

"Which body part?" Kairi asked, a grin starting to form on her face.

"Mmhppf!" He made some noise, and ran off to the kitchen.

Kairi grinned to herself as she plopped a sushi into her face, chewing it with a happy expression. Tenten looked at her – it was kind of scary how someone can enjoy that much wasabi. No one else ate another sushi, so Kairi took the initiative to begin as Ino came back with Naruto.

"Never have I ever… wore makeup," Kairi grinned at one of the boys—Tenten didn't know which one though.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Ino shouted, standing up. "Are all of you ganging up on me now?!" She cried, not wanting to eat another sushi.

"Hey, I should be asking that too!" Naruto shouted out. "Why are you guys picking all the things we did!"

"You wore makeup…?" Tenten asked slowly, her eyes widening.

Naruto sat back down quickly, muttering something to himself. "…Teme did too!" He said, pointing to at Sasuke once again.

"Dobe…" Sasuke said dangerously.

"Hey, hey, no need for fights in this house," Kairi said. "Just eat your sushi like a good little boy and let's move on! It's been already half an hour and we only got through three people," Kairi complained.

"Is this what you do to your friends Kairi?" A new voice asked. The front door closed shut, and Misaki came into view. "You torture them with wasabi," he laughed as he hung up his jacket on the wall.

"I'm not torturing them!" Kairi shouted. There were a few vigorous nods from behind Kairi, and Misaki laughed again.

"Whatever you say. Have fun killing your taste buds guys," Misaki said, disappearing up the stairs with a wave.

"Ino you're next!" Kairi shouted with annoyance as her brother left for his room.

She cleared her throat as she tried to think to herself what everyone else did—or more specifically, what Tenten, Hinata and Ino did. She _had _to get them back for making her eat that disgusting sushi three times in a row, even though she knew that Hinata didn't mean it.

"Never have I ever… gotten over 95 on a test!" She declared with a grin, knowing fully well that she had gotten Tenten, Hinata and Kairi out.

"Oh that is just lame!" Kairi shouted, as she complied with what she had to do.

"Yeah," Tenten agreed, frowning at Ino. She did _not_ want to taste the green sushi.

"Eat up, eat up!" Ino cried gleefully as she watched her friends' expressions of eating the sushi.

Neji, Sasuke and Shikamaru ate without complaint—though Ino had been a bit disappointed at Neji's stoic expression as he chewed on the sushi. Kairi had of course been more than glad to eat it once more. She had felt a bit bad when Hinata had to eat it, but that guilt turned into joy when she saw Tenten's expression. Maybe she was a bit sadistic at times.

Tenten quickly ran to the kitchen, chugging a cup of water. She sighed heavily as she wiped away the sweat on her forehead. That was the most horrible thing she had eaten in her life. The after-taste was horrible, and the spiciness had not gone away yet. She drank another cup before walking back towards the group with a heavy sigh.

Hinata seemed fine, though. Tenten raised a brow at Hinata's lack of reaction, but she had not bothered to ask her why she hadn't been as jumpy as her when she ate the sushi. "Y-You did get a 97 on one test," Hinata said, quietly, as if she was unsure if she should say this. "O-On that test you copied off of me, remember?"

"Hinata!" Ino groaned, as she remembered what Hinata was talking about. She looked at the sushi dreadfully, but ate it anyway without complaint. _'To hell with revenge,' _Ino thought silently, fuming at the outcome inwardly, _'it just comes and bites you back in the ass.'_

Next had been Shikamaru. He had said with a lazy sigh, "Never have I ever not slept in class," which caused a complaint from Kairi.

"You can't negate it!" She had shouted.

"You didn't say that before," Shikamaru had said, not wanting to argue with her.

After him was Naruto, who had taken at least fifteen minutes to think of what to say. In the end, all he could come up with. "Never have I ever kissed a guy," causing a few groans from Ino and Kairi. But to his surprise, Neji had pointed out that he _did _kiss a guy—Sasuke, to be specific.

"You kissed _Sasuke_?" Tenten cried out, her mouth dropping a bit. "Wow… I never knew that you—"

"It was an accident," Sasuke hissed, his voice dripping with venom. "Some idiot pushed him towards me when we were in grade school," he muttered, picking up one of the sushi.

To get back at Neji for spilling out that unwanted memory, Sasuke had thought of something that Tenten had wanted to know badly.

"Never have I ever gone out with someone who resembles a panda," he said in his monotone voice, smirking at Neji.

Tenten bit her lip. He had to go there—she knew that her hair resembled a panda, but did he mean that _every_ part of her resembled a panda?

No one moved. They all stared at Neji intently, waiting for him to eat the sushi. He picked it up slowly, and chewed on it. "Never have I ever watched someone sleep for three hours," he said with a smirk.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Neji as Kairi stifled her laughter. "It was a dare," Sasuke muttered to himself as he ate his sushi.

Tenten smiled to herself as she snuck a look at Neji. Maybe she had nothing to worry about after all.

-

All the fun and games ended as soon as the sushis were devoured. Kairi went through her rack of movies, with Ino beside her. "No! Not this one, hell no," Kairi whispered to Ino as Ino showed her a movie. "Why not? You're scared aren't you?" Ino asked with a wicked grin. It was totally payback time—screw the idea of how revenge comes back and bites you in the ass.

"I refuse!" Kairi cried as Ino grabbed the DVD. "Don't be such a baby," Ino said, putting in it in.

Kairi glared at Ino as she sat down on the sofa, next to Shikamaru. Grumbling and muttering insults and curses at Ino, she sat next to Hinata who was next to Ino.

"Okay," Neji said with a quiet sigh as he hung up his call. He looked at Tenten, who was staring at the movie intently. They were watching The Ring—in the dark. He felt bad about leaving—he knew that Tenten was scared of horror movies, but he had no choice.

He put a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped a little. Turning around, she gave him a smile of relief as she saw that it was just him. "What happened Neji?" She asked with concern as she saw the look on his face.

"I need to go," he whispered to her, not wanting to disrupt the others. "Hiashi-sama wants me back."

"Okay," Tenten said, with a hint of sadness in her voice. "Want me to come with?" She asked, getting up from her seat.

Neji shook her head—he didn't want her to give up the time where she could be with her friends to go with him. "It's okay. I can come and pick you up after the movie is done," he said to her. Tenten nodded reluctantly. He kissed her quickly on the forehead as he turned to leave. Tenten blinked a few times—was that PDA Neji had just shown?

She sat back down slowly, as she smiled to herself. Even though it was dark and none of her friends had been paying attention, she felt happy that he had shown a little display of affection in public.

She felt herself wander in her thoughts as she drifted off to sleep. Ino's screams and Kairi's laughter (it was funny how their roles got reversed) didn't seem to keep her awake to watch the movie. It seemed like as soon as she closed her eyes, she was woken up by Misaki.

"Tenten," he said quietly as he shook her awake. "You wanna crash here tonight? Everyone else is dead asleep, and I don't think my mother would appreciate seeing teenagers wiped out and sleeping all over the living room."

Tenten rubbed her eye, yawning a bit as she stretched. "What time is it?" She asked sleepily as she stood up.

"Almost 11," he said.

"I guess I'll go," Tenten said as she felt herself waking up a bit. "It's getting late," she said as she stepped over Kairi's arm. She caught herself before falling down over Naruto's leg, laughing nervously. "Woops."

"Okay, I'll walk you," Misaki said, grabbing his coat off the hanger on the wall.

"It's okay, I'll go alone."

"But you'll get raped…" Misaki said oh-so innocently as he stared at her.

Tenten laughed as she stood in front of the door. "Well, then I'll kick the guy in the balls so that he can't rape me at all. See ya Misaki," she said with a wave as she stepped out of the house.

Tenten had started walking quickly down the long block. Truthfully, she did want someone to walk with her—she was never good in the dark. But she knew that she would be of nuisance if she asked Misaki to walk her back this late at night. Besides, she could protect herself perfectly fine.

She walked a bit slower as she felt herself being too paranoid. It was stupid of her to even be paranoid. Who would be out at 11 at night? She suddenly heard footsteps behind her. _'Oh right. Rapists, that's who,'_ she thought as she started to quicken her pace again. _'I should've called Neji…'_

"Scared?" She heard someone sneer behind her. "Who would've thought that the almighty Tenten would be so _scared_?" She heard the person behind her sneer once again.

Tenten turned around—she'd know that voice anywhere. "Do you have anything better to do than stalk me?" Tenten asked as she narrowed her eyes. She was tired and she wanted to go home. She didn't want to put up with this at 11 at night.

"Stalk? You?" She scoffed. "You've got to be kidding me. Why would _I_ waste my time stalking _you_?"

"Well obviously you are, since you have the time to follow me and know where I am," Tenten said with disinterest. When was she going to leave?

Ami fumed to herself as she tried to stop herself from screaming out. It was of course at night, and she knew better than that. "It's just a coincidence," she said in a hard voice. "Why were you with Neji?" She asked accusingly.

"Are you obsessed with Neji now too?" Tenten rolled her eyes as she started walking again. She really didn't have time for this. "Just go home already," she said tiredly.

But of course, things usually didn't go her way. Ami yanked her back by her jacket. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from him?" She whispered angrily. "Why do you _have _to be with him all the time?!" She cried out, her grip on Tenten's jacket getting harder and harder, refusing to let her go.

"Let go!" Tenten said, trying to pry Ami's hands away from her jacket. Knowing that it was useless, she turned around to hear Ami's useless blabbering. "Okay, you know what? Why do you care so much?"

"Because if you're with him, then Sakura will be hurt!"

Again with Sakura. "I know that you want the best for Sakura," Tenten said, not knowing why she was going through all this trouble, "but doing al this to make Sakura feel better, but maybe making all this… nonsense happen, isn't the best way! I may not know her, but I don't think this is the best way—"

"You're right," Ami said, letting go of Tenten's jacket. "You don't know her," she said, the anger in her tone clearly evident. "Just stay away from Neji—you'll save one person's heart." Ami gave her one last glare before stomping off in the opposite direction.

Tenten stared after Ami. She felt her tired mood disappear entirely.

'_But what about my heart?'_

* * *

"Come in," Hiashi said, as he heard a knock on the door. He straightened up some papers before looking at who came into the room. "Ah, Neji. Glad you came back so fast. I'm sorry that I had to keep you away from your friends," Hiashi apologized.

Neji nodded. It wasn't a bother to him, really. It happened all the time—he would be out, and Hiashi would call him back. He had gotten used to it already. "What did you need, Hiashi-sama?" He asked.

"I need help with something," Hiashi stated.

Neji stared at him in shock, but didn't let it show on his face. Hiashi had never needed help—with anything. If for any reason he needed help, it was surely something important.

"You see, it's about Tenten," Neji paid a bit more attention as he heard Tenten's name. "You remember the deal in the beginning, right? About the six months that she would be staying here?" Neji nodded for Hiashi to continue. "Well, Maki-san at the orphan center asked me for her to start finding a job and an apartment."

Neji didn't think he had heard that right. "What?" He asked, letting his cluelessness slip up. "I mean, why so early? It's only three months into it," he said.

Hiashi didn't let his nephew's slip up distract him. "Maki-san told me that it was better for her to move out earlier." The memory of meeting Maki had resurfaced to his mind.

"_What I wanted to ask you was: how is Tenten doing?" Maki asked, a bit nervous. "She has the reputation of messing a lot of opportunities up and I wanted to know if anything broke in the Hyuuga Manor so far—"_

_Hiashi laughed politely. "Tenten's been fine. There's been a few broken vases I sometimes find in various hallways (Maki winced at hearing this), but she's been obedient."_

"_Well, we'll gladly compensate for that—"_

"_Oh no," Hiashi said politely. "It's fine. It's not as bad as when you first told me what might happen."_

"_That's good to hear," Maki said, nodding his head. He held up a teapot, "Tea?" When Hiashi nodded his head, Maki continued with what he was going to say. "Well, Tenten being not disruptive is kind of suspicious," Hiashi chuckled at this, "but I'll take your word for this. She might be off making trouble elsewhere and not at the Manor…" Maki trailed off._

"_You're thinking too lowly of Tenten," Hiashi said with a polite smile. "But I can see why you would say that. Maybe Tenten really has changed," he said. "She's changed Neji quite a bit…"_

"_Ah, yes. Neji, how is he?" Maki asked, knowing his manners._

"_He is doing fine," Hiashi replied. "Much better than before. Tenten really had brought a light in his depressed state."_

"_That's good to hear," Maki mused. "Well, send my regards to him."_

_Hiashi nodded. "So what else did you want to say? I know that you wouldn't call me out just to talk about some trivial thing like this," Hiashi said politely, taking a quiet sip of the tea._

"_You're right," Maki said, nodding. "What I really wanted to say was… well, let's start off with something simple. How has Tenten been adapting to the Hyuuga atmosphere?" Maki asked with a polite smile. "I've been there myself, and I can say that it's truly intimidating."_

"_She's doing quite well," Hiashi replied. "But she has her moments where she stays in her room for a while."_

_Maki nodded his head. "Okay then, I'll just come out and say it," he took a deep breath. "When will Tenten be moving out?"_

"_In a few months, of course," Hiashi said. "Wasn't that what we agreed on?"_

"_Well, I thought that it would be best for Tenten to start looking for a job now."_

"_That is absurd," Hiashi commented. "Why so soon? There has to be at least two months left before she leaves. We're fine with her at the Manor, and she's fine with us. Why does she need to move out now?"_

"_You're misunderstanding me, Hiashi-san," Maki said politely. "What I meant was that, she should only start looking for the job and apartment now. This is so that when the time comes, she won't have to be hasty and uncertain about where she needs to live and what job she needs to get."_

"_I see," Hiashi said, nodding his head._

"_Even though it's three months away," Maki said, starting up again. "It's better for her to start looking now. The less attachment she has, the better."_

"_Why is that?"_

"_She didn't tell you?" Maki looked a bit shocked, but regained his composure. "Well, she had talked to me about the idea of going back to America."_

Hiashi sighed. He knew that he couldn't tell Neji that—he seemed a bit attached to Tenten right now, and he knew better than to tell Neji that. There was one thing that bothered him about Tenten going back to America. Maki had never explained why—he just left it at that point before bidding him goodbye.

"Maki-san said that it was better to start looking now," Hiashi said, repeating Maki's words. "Also, looking for an apartment too."

Neji nodded slowly, trying to understand the reason. He didn't see any. It was stupid—looking for a way to move out already? He knew that good things were never going to last. "Okay. And what do you want me to do?"

"Help her," Hiashi replied. "Don't tell her about it, but discreetly help her find a job and an apartment."

"Why can I not tell her?" Neji was confused about this part.

"I don't want to overwhelm her," was all Hiashi said before dismissing Neji.

* * *

"Failed, didn't you?" Her voice was taunting her. She just knew it.

"Shut the fuck up Ayama," Ami hissed, narrowing her eyes. "You failed too, you shouldn't be talking."

Ayama's smirk turned to a frown. "At least I got more than a scratch on her," she said, flipping her dyed hair. "All you managed to do was… what _did _you do?" Ayama laughed in that high pitched voice of hers. "You really didn't get to hurt her, did you?" She smirked once again, her frown disappearing.

Ami really didn't want to put up with Ayama right now—she was too dumb for her to talk to, and she felt like her brain cells were disappearing. "Keep your mouth shut," Ami hissed as she threw her jacket on the sofa.

"Sore loser," Ayama cooed as she put up her feet on the coffee table. "Now, I'm parched. Fetch me a drink, would you?" She turned her attention towards the magazine that she picked up.

"Get it yourself," Ami said, walking towards the small kitchen, getting herself a drink. "You have legs. Why not make a use of them and walk over here yourself? Or are they only used for sexual pleasure?"

She heard the magazine being put down on the table. "You're just jealous," she said.

"Of what? How you blow twenty men in one night? Yeah, I'm really jealous," Ami rolled her eyes as she set down the glass cup in the sink.

Ayama smirked. "Yeah, you really are jealous. I bet you're still a virgin," she laughed annoyingly once again as she brushed back her hair.

"Wow," Ami shook her head as she faced Ayama. "You say that like it's a bad thing. And I supposed to you've had over twenty abortions, right?" Ami smirked at Ayama's displeased expression. "Am I right or am I right?"

"Neither," Ayama said, her gloating tone gone. "Don't be such a bitch," Ayama said holding her head up high as she got off the couch. "You really need some to get you to loosen up. Want me to hook you up?" She asked, a smirk reappearing on her face.

"Fuck no," Ami said, narrowing her eyes at, blocking the path to the kitchen. "I wouldn't want to be three months pregnant and then get an abortion like you," she said, smirking back at Ayama.

This time, Ami had gone too far for her. "Bitch, shut the fuck up," she shouted, pushing Ami back to the sink. "You don't know the all that fucking crap you're talking about."

"Oh I don't?" Ami asked tauntingly. "Who was the one who came crying to me about how she messed up big time? Who was the one who declared that she wasn't going to have sex anymore? Who was it, Ayama? Who the fuck was it?!"

A slap echoed in the small apartment complex. The two didn't say a word, waiting for the echo to dissipate. "Bitch," Ami whispered, touching the cheek that Ayama had slapped.

"You don't know when the fuck to shut up," Ayama muttered dangerously. "You can't ever keep your fucking mouth shut."

"Look who's talking," Ami said, narrowing her eyes at Ayama. "Who's the one always giving those men who are triple your age blow jobs?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Ayama screamed. "You don't know anything about me anymore, so just shut the fuck up!"

Ami's hard eyes softened a bit—she was right. She didn't know her anymore. They used to be best friends—but something happened. She didn't know why, but Ayama suddenly became bitchy. She became a slut, the most hated person, and the most plastic. Ami hadn't taken the time to ask why—to ask what happened, to even care what changed about her. All she cared about was going to America to escape the trauma that she had witnessed.

Ayama calmed down. "Don't fucking spit out words that you don't even know are true. The only reason why I'm doing this is because you're the one who fucking came to me, fucking crying your eyes out, so don't you be telling me bullshit."

Ami's eyes hardened again. "Fuck, I didn't cry," she said.

"'Help me, Ayama! Help me, I need to knock some sense into that bitch!'" Ayama imitated Ami's voice as she acted out what Ami had done.

Ami pushed Ayama down, causing Ayama to scream loudly. The door slammed open—they were here.

"Get the fuck out," Ami said lowly, glaring at the men who had rushed in.

"What are you doing the Ayama-sama?" One of them asked angrily as the other pushed Ami away, helping Ayama up. She smiled gratefully at them, but brushed them off once she was up. She smirked at Ami—Ami was going to get it now.

"None of your fucking business," Ami said. "Now get the fuck out."

The men stayed in their spots. They weren't going to move anytime, and Ami was tired of them. "Fuck!" She screamed, storming out of the apartment complex, taking her jacket with her.

She stormed all the way down, walking outside. She breathed in and out—it seemed like a daily routine nowadays. Those buffoons had always sided with Ayama, and she was fucking sick of it. Just because Ayama had given them more head than she did, pissed her off badly. She was so sick of it.

'_Fuck Ayama. That whore, that fucking slut, what the fuck is she thinking, making up all that crap. I fucking gave her the idea of getting her precious Neji back, and I didn't even fucking cry to her. I was the one who was giving her those fucking ideas, and now she's finally starting to think on her own? Fucking B.S. That bimbo, she should rot in hell for all the STDs she got form having all that pointless sex with middle aged men.'_

She breathed in and out again. Maybe she should call Sakura—no, it was better not to. She didn't want to worry her. Ami sighed a she took a walk around the block—it had always calmed her down after a fight with Ayama.

'_Sakura…'_ Ami thought back to what Tenten had said. Was she right? Was she really coming about it the wrong way? Ami frowned as she took her second walk around the block. She was pretty sure that Neji and Tenten were dating—why he would even date Tenten was beyond her mind. Sakura seemed pretty content without Neji in her life when she was with her—so why did she feel that she had to break Tenten away from Neji?

She felt a vibration coming from her pocket. "Sakura?" Ami answered.

"Hey," Sakura greeted. "I finally remembered to call you for once," she joked.

Ami grinned and laughed along with Sakura. "What's up?" Ami asked, as she pulled her jacket closer to her.

"Oh, nothing much. Are you outside?" Sakura asked with concern. "Isn't it like, 12 or something over there? Why are you still outside? Shouldn't you be sleeping? Are you doing something bad again?" Sakura asked question after question.

Ami laughed at Sakura. "Yeah, I'm outside. I'm just taking a walk—calm yourself, Sakura. "

"Okay," Sakura said doubtfully. "Well, anyways, I'm just calling you to tell you some great news!"

"Eh? What happened over there without me?" Ami pouted, even though she knew that Sakura couldn't see her.

"Well… I'm not telling you!" Sakura laughed. "You'll find out soon though, don't worry. Well, I gotta go. I have so many things to do before… well you'll find out," she said lightly. "Bye Mina!"

Before Ami could say anything, Sakura already hung up. _'That stupid…'_ Ami laughed quietly to herself. _'She's sounds so happy,' _Ami thought to herself as she trudged up to her apartment complex.

"Tenten really is in the way of Sakura's happiness…" She said bitterly.

* * *

_Reviewers!(:_

Malika-chan **ll **Luna2986 **ll **Serene Cerulean **ll **93addict **ll **XoTentenXgurlXo101 **ll **missy4eva **ll **. **ll **naruto watching freak **ll **_chigirisasaki_** ll **CatxRock07 **ll **SnowCharms **ll **_foxflyer_ **ll **yeji301 **ll **RuneKunaiV **ll **_Krizzie_ **ll **MissBrown22241

Man, I know that I said that I wouldn't update till July… but here's one last chapter before I go hiatus(: Well if you didn't check out my profile for the reason, I'll just say it here: **exams are coming up in June, and I need to study for them**. I'm not even half-way through my bio review book for an SAT exam in the beginning of June, so yeah;( But don't fret! It's only two months d;

The title is **TPL (Talk, Play, Love) **by **AnyBand**. Okay, so… who's confused by this chapter? Anyone? Anyone? Haha, I don't think this was too confusing… maybe it just leaves a lot of questions.

**Why would Ami want Tenten to be gone once Sakura comes back?  
**_Well, the reason for this is that Ami wants Sakura to be happy(: Short, simple and sweet. I guess it's sort of explained in this chapter – if it's not, I hope that this would clear things up._

**What is the real reason that Sakura left, and what happened to her parents?  
**_Well, in the letter that Sakura wrote to Sasuke, it said that her family was having some problems. That was partially the reason why; there's also something else to make them finally move. And about her parents; I guess it'll be explained when she comes back, if you don't get why (from my hints in the previous chapters)_

**Are you going to include more characters (non-OCs)?  
**_Ah, yes, there's one more that I was going to include… She shows up in the next chapter. Guess who it is! Lols; jaykays d;_

**What was Kairi going to tell Tenten in the previous chapters, but wasn't mentioned again in the later chapters?  
**_Oh man, this is what not updating for a while makes you do. Well then, they forgot about it again d; But it comes back when Sakura comes back – Kairi will remember what Sakura had told her then._

Well, this is all that I'd like to say. Is this long chapter enough to satisfy you guys? (Not that long in my opinion, but oh well.)

**WhippedCoffee:)  
**_Review please, d;_


	38. Jan 29 to Feb 1, Mon to Thurs

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Three**  
_Day Eleven, Thirteen and Fourteen  
_

**Chapter Thirty-Eight—**Bad Girl

"Quiet you brats!" Anko shouted as she stood near the doorway of the auditorium. "File in, in an orderly and quiet fashion!" She screamed. Noticing that not one student was paying attention to her, she glared at each one who walked through the door. "Those damn maggots," she muttered under her breath.

"What's up with her?" Kairi muttered to the others. "Someone got their period or what?"

"Stop yapping and hurry up through the doors!" Anko snapped at Kairi.

"Are you on your period, Anko-sensei?!" A familiar voice cried from behind the four girls.

Tenten widened her eyes as she saw Anko visibly shake with anger. "Naruto!" Anko yelled towards the back of the huge crowd of students. Everyone silenced at her booming voice. "I'm failing you!" She shouted.

"W-What?! You can't do that! I'm not in any of your classes!" Naruto protested. Tenten knew that Naruto must have been pushing his way towards the front, where Anko was.

"Hurry up through the door!" Anko shouted, pushing Ino a bit to get her to walk.

"Ow," Ino muttered, rubbing her shoulder. As the four walked into the auditorium, Ino complained. "She's so rough!"

"Oh suck it up," Kairi said with disinterest.

"So why are we here in the first place?" Tenten asked, trying to avoid any arguments between Kairi and Ino.

"Every year there's something like… a career day," Hinata answered quietly and quickly, just in case Kairi or Ino decided to speak up again. "There are booths all over the courtyard, gym, classrooms and sometimes even in the bathrooms. The school invites other companies to do their business here, like setting up their own booths to find interns for their companies, so that in return the school will get some money."

"The school takes advantage of that and has some students set up their own booths to make money," Ino chipped in.

"So basically it's the day where most of the money in your wallet disappears," Kairi said with disinterest.

The four picked their seats, located in the far right of the auditorium. "No, that's just you Kairi," Ino said accusingly. "You spend all your money on all that food you see."

"Is it my fault that they make it so hard to ignore?" Kairi huffed, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes. Yes it is," Ino ended the conversation by pulling out a small compact mirror to check her hair.

-

"Where were you guys?" Tenten asked as she spotted Neji. "We only saw Naruto getting yelled by at Anko and then you all disappeared." Tenten looked around, noticing that the one being spoken of was not there, "Where _is _he?"

"We didn't go," Shikamaru said in a bored voice. "All that talking is just too troublesome to listen to…"

"Food," was the simple answer that Sasuke gave.

"Probably food," Kairi said at the exact same time.

The two stared at each other; Tenten found the eye contact to be exceedingly weird. They both looked away when Ino spoke up.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Ino said. "Shikamaru!" Ino shouted, grabbing onto his arm. "Since we have no classes today, let's go somewhere."

"But don't we have the fair?" Tenten asked while waving the pamphlet that was given out during the assembly.

"Oh, they do this every year, it gets old after a while," Ino said, brushing the matter off. She tugged Shikamaru's arm as she continued to explain to Tenten. "We skip it every year; it's the same thing over and over again, so there's no point in actually looking at the whole thing." She directed her attention to Shikamaru, "Let's go up to the rooftop!"

"They probably have booths up there too," Shikamaru said as Ino dragged him away towards the stairs.

"Well. This… is kind of awkward," Kairi announced, looking around at the rest of the people who were left. "Hinata, let's go find your lover boy!" She grabbed Hinata by the arm. Before moving away, however, she looked at the couple and the third wheel that was left. She sighed as she grabbed Sasuke's arm, too. "Come on Sasuke, it's time to get fat today!"

"Don't touch—," he was abruptly cut off when Kairi yanked on his arm to keep him moving.

"'Don't touch me'," she mocked with an imitation of his voice (Hinata giggled a bit while Sasuke glared at her); "I know that, you know that, we all know that! But who gives a rat's ass, so now keep those short legs moving!"

"My legs are not—,"

"Give it a rest already!"

Tenten smiled at their constant bickering. She turned towards Neji, who looked bored (but who could really tell, really, since he always has that look on his face) out of his mind. "So, you want to skip this too?" She asked, glancing at him as she flipped through the pamphlet.

Neji pondered to himself. Should he really help Hiashi-sama? He didn't see the logic in it. But if Tenten were to leave for America… He sighed inaudibly as he looked at Tenten reading the pamphlet. He didn't want her to leave.

"Let's go look around," he finally said, picking a direction and walking aimlessly away.

Tenten looked up and blinked at his retreating back. "What's his rush," she muttered to herself. "Ah, wait up Neji!" She shouted as she realized that his back was soon no where to be seen.

* * *

"Is that Naruto?" Tenten asked as she trailed alongside Neji.

"You! Yes, you there! How would you like to be a police officer!? Fight to save the world like me!" Naruto shouted, shoving papers into each of the passing students' hands. When they pushed the papers away from themselves, Naruto kept pushing it back to them. "Oh come on! Don't you want to be a hero?! Don't you want to save people's lives?!"

"…Yeah, that's Naruto," Tenten said, laughing a bit. "So, what do you want to be in the future, Neji?" She asked, popping a gum in her mouth.

He didn't reply. "What do you want to be?" He asked in return.

"Hm…" Tenten shrugged. "I don't know. Something I enjoy," she said with a smile.

"Tenten," Neji started off in a serious voice. "I have something to tell you."

Tenten raised a brow at Neji's sudden change in tone. "Is this… bad?" She asked slowly, widening her eyes when she saw the look in Neji's eyes.

"Hiashi-sama told me something last week," he said, wondering if he should tell her or not. Yes; of course he should tell her. She was after all… his girlfriend. He didn't want to keep anything away from her. "He said that you had to find a job and an apartment, quickly."

"…so he wants me to move out?" Tenten asked, not understanding. She frowned. "Why? Did I do something wrong? There's still three months to go, isn't there?" Her mouth formed an _o _shape as realization hit her. "Is it about the vase I broke a while ago? Because I swear, if that's the reason, I'll eventually pay—"

"Calm down," Neji said, resisting the urge to smirk at Tenten's reaction. "It wasn't the vase," he explained. "He said that… Maki-san wanted you to move out soon because he didn't want you to have any uncertainties when you move out," and maybe leave for America, he finished silently to himself.

"Oh…" Tenten said. "I can see Maki saying that…" She said sheepishly. "Hey, let's get ice cream!" Tenten said excitedly as she grabbed Neji's hand to run towards the ice cream booth. "Two vanilla cones please," she said with a smile as she ordered.

The student in the ice cream booth smiled back at Tenten. As she noticed who was behind Tenten, the student suddenly grew red. She quickly made the cones and gave them to Tenten. Neji gave the money to the student, and she took it with a shaking hand. "T-Thank you," she stuttered. As the two began walking away, she shouted, "Come again!"

"I'm guessing that was one of your fan girls," Tenten commented as the two of them walked away.

"Jealous?" Tenten raised a brow at Neji's comment. She laughed and shook her head, "What's with the sudden mood change? What happened to the serious mood before?"

Neji glared at Tenten, who smiled in return. "Do you want me to move out?" She suddenly asked, as she licked her ice cream while she looked down at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with him.

"No," he said, looking the other way, also.

She smiled to herself. "Then, I won't move out," she said, with a small grin. "At least, not that fast. As for the job… I guess I should find one," she said, more to herself than to Neji. "I'll figure something out," she said with a smile aimed at Neji.

"You don't need a job," Neji said stubbornly. "If you need money, I have it."

"Aw Neji, spoiling me would not be good," Tenten said while laughing. "Let's go see what kind of jobs there are," she said, walking away towards a colorful booth.

"Neji! Do _you_ want to save the world?! Yes, of course you do! Let's go!" Naruto appeared out of no where and dragged Neji by the arm to the police booth. "I got one, Hayate-san!!" He screamed at the person who was at the booth.

"Naruto, how many times do I need to tell you that you cannot drag people against their will here?" Hayate asked tiredly.

"But Neji was willing to!" Naruto insisted.

"Don't. Touch. Me," Neji said, as he shook Naruto's hand off his arm. "Shouldn't you be eating somewhere?" Neji asked.

"I saw Hayate-san here, all sick and coughy, so I decided to help him! And isn't being a police officer COOL? I mean, you get to carry and gun and save the world!" Naruto exclaimed, waving the papers in his hands around and around, which eventually hit Neji in the face.

Neji twitched (well, not literally), but he refrained himself from smacking the daylights out of Naruto. "Being a police officer doesn't mean saving the world," he said, as he avoided a smack in the face by the constant moving hands of Naruto.

"But it's close enough! You save people everyday!" Naruto exclaimed with excitement once again, waving his hands more drastically now. Suddenly, he stopped. "And you carry a **gun**! Imagine that! Me with a gun!" Naruto laughed at that idea.

"If you used your gun, you would have a higher chance of shooting yourself than the other person…" Neji muttered to himself as he yet again, got smacked in the face by Naruto's unpredictable spurs of hand motions.

"Neji! Wouldn't that be great! All four of us can work together as police officers!"

"You'll probably shoot one of us before you actually shoot the suspect," Neji said, a bit louder this time. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find Tenten."

Naruto blinked as he watched Neji walk away. Finally, what Neji said clicked in his brain. "HEY! I have rather good aim, you know!"

-

"Stupid Neji," Tenten muttered as she threw out some unwanted flyers. "Can't even follow me if I tell him to," she sighed as she sat down on one of the benches.

"Why, hello Tenten."

Tenten tensed up hearing her voice. She slowly relaxed as she realized that there were people around them—she wouldn't do anything drastic to her publicly. "What do you want?"

"Aw, I don't even get a hello back?" Ayama asked sweetly as she sat down next to Tenten on the bench. "And here I thought we were past the whole 'what is your true intentions' stage. Guess I was wrong," she mused. She stretched out her legs, and then crossed them. She tilted her face towards the sky. "So how is your week going? Smoothly?"

"Just peachy," Tenten replied back. Two can play the nice game. "And how's your week? Giving anyone blowjobs lately? Any deep throat sex?" Tenten said with a smile.

"You're fucking disgusting," Ayama said, giving Tenten a nasty glare.

"Me?" Tenten laughed. "Who's the one that has sex every night?"

"It's every other night," Ayama corrected, rolling her eyes. "And when I feel like it. Can't work this great of a body everyday, now can you?" She said, with a light mocking laugh. "Now tell me, how's it going with Neji? Any arguments lately? Fights? Break-ups?"

"Not at all; not that any of it is your concern. Maybe you should focus your attention on getting those check ups at the doctor. Who knows what kind of STDs you carry around," Tenten said as she stood up from the bench. "Well, it was nice chatting with you. I hope we really don't meet again, in the future."

Before Tenten could leave, however, Ayama spoke up. "So Ami told me about how you two met. Did you have fun seeing your old best friend?" She said, in a taunting way.

Tenten spun around. "Yes, we had a lot of fun, actually. More fun than I had with you."

"Glad to know," she pursed her lips. She uncrossed her legs and stood up as well. "Well, you're utterly boring today. So today is January 29th," Ayama said with a smile, "you know what happens in a few weeks. Ta-ta, Tenten. It was fun while it lasted, though today wasn't that fun. Have fun with… oh, everything that happens after this," she threw Tenten a small smile and bounced her way towards a group of people.

'_January 29__th__…'_

Sakura's return date was only a week or two away.

"Tenten!" Kairi shouted, coming up from behind Tenten. "Where's Neji?" Kairi asked.

Tenten blinked twice before replying back to Kairi. "Oh—uh…" Tenten scratched her head as she smiled sheepishly. "I kind of lost him…"

"Y-You lost Neji-niisan?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"Nice girlfriend," Sasuke scoffed, crossing his arms.

Kairi stomped on Sasuke's foot before grinning at Tenten. "Oh, it's for the better, anyways. That guy seemed to be rather too quiet today, it was dampening my mood. Is it just me, or did he seem kind of emo to you guys?"

"So now I'm emo?"

Kairi flinched as she took two steps back from Neji, who appeared behind Kairi. "Did I say emo…? I meant… I meant… oh whatever, I can't find a word that rhymes with emo. Let's go Hinata, before your cousin comes running after me with a bat," she said, linking arms with Hinata and dragging her away.

Sasuke and Neji held eye contact for a while. Tenten rolled her eyes at their weird way of talking to each other. Sasuke nodded out of no where, and walked off. Tenten laughed.

"What; was that your way of telling him to chase after Kairi for you?"

"No, I was telling him to stay away from Naruto and the police booth."

"…seriously?"

"No, Tenten. I was joking."

"Well don't joke with such a serious expression…" Tenten muttered to herself. "Hey, where were you anyways? I told you to follow me!"

"Naruto got to me first."

"Ohh…" Tenten nodded off in realization. "Well, I already saw half the booths without you, anyways," she said, moving on. She showed him the flyers that she had gotten. "Which part time job do you think suits me better?"

"I told you, you don't need a part time job," Neji said, not bothering to look at the flyers.

"Oh come on," Tenten rolled her eyes. "Alright fine, don't look at them," Tenten muttered, stuffing the flyers into her backpack.

Neji walked off, expecting Tenten to follow him.

'_Will this be what it looks like?' _Tenten thought as she stared at Neji's retreating back. _'Will his back be what I'll see when Sakura comes back?'_

"You're not coming?" Neji asked.

"Ah, hold up!" Tenten shouted as she zipped her backpack.

"I'm coming!"

* * *

"Why are you packing so early?" Ami asked over the phone.

"Oh… no reason," Sakura said as she tried to stick a t shirt through the mess of clothes in the suitcase. "This stupid shirt won't go in!"

Ami laughed. "You're packing too many things. Are you sure you need to pack all that food in there, too?"

"…How'd you know that I packed in food?" Sakura said. "Am I that much of a fatass?" Sakura frowned as she poked her stomach fat. "You're right; I should take out the food…"

"No, you're just really predictable. You'll probably finish the food before you get to the airport, anyways…" Ami said.

"Hm… I'll call you back later, Kairi. This is hard enough as it is, and having to deal with you while packing? It makes everything harder. So, I'll call you back~" Sakura said in a sing-song voice as she hung up, not waiting for Ami's reply.

The house was silent. The room would have been silent too, if it weren't for Sakura's uplifting humming. She folded her clothes neatly as she smiled at the thought of seeing her friends again. Slowly, by each fold, she got slower and slower. She hands stopped moving as her smile slowly begin to fade away.

'_Will they be happy to see me again, after what I made them go through…?' _Sakura thought to herself as she rested her hands on her lap. _'Will they welcome me back in the group after I just left them without warning…? Will they… consider me as a friend again?' _Sakura wiped a tear from her face.

"No, I can't think like this," she said to herself quietly with a smile. "They'll welcome me back," she said optimistically.

'_But… what if they don't?'_

* * *

"Hey," Ami started as she saw Tenten getting drinks.

Tenten turned around to face Ami. "What are you doing here? You don't go to school here…" She said slowly.

"Security isn't that tight here," Ami said nonchalantly. She eyed the two drinks in Tenten's hand. "Isn't the boyfriend supposed to get the drink for the girlfriend?" She asked.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Well I guess I'm the boyfriend in the relationship, then." As Tenten took a step forward, Ami spoke up again.

"Well guess who's coming back?" Ami asked. "I take it that you already know it's almost February."

"Why the fuck is everyone making such a big deal about her coming back?" Tenten asked harshly. Her back was still to Ami; she didn't bother to turn around. "She's a person just like everyone else; is she that special that everyone has to keep reminding me that she's coming back?"

"Yes, she is that special!" Ami cried. "If everyone is reminding you that she's coming back, you're obviously not special enough to stop them from thinking of her. You can't ever replace Sakura, Tenten; as Neji's girlfriend, as Kairi's, Ino's, Hinata's friend, or even Sasuke's crush. You can't ever replace her…" She said the last sentence softly to herself.

"I'm not trying to replace her…" Tenten whispered quietly.

"Then why the fuck are you trying to take her place in everything!?" Ami shouted.

"None of it was intentional!" Tenten shouted back. She looked down at the drinks in her hand. "I better get the drinks to Neji. See you around, I guess," Tenten said, walking off without another glance at Ami.

Ami stared at the back of Tenten.

"Bye Tenten… Sakura's coming back and taking her place back here permanently…"

* * *

_Wednesday, January 31t__h_

"Fifth floor… Room 1540…" Tenten muttered to herself as she looked at the room numbers. "Room 1538… Room 1540!" She said with a smile as she finally found the room.

She knocked on the door, waiting patiently for someone to open it. The door creaked open and Tenten greeted the person. "Hi! I'm Tenten," she said, smiling politely.

"Hello, Tenten. I'm Sarutobi," he introduced himself. He stepped aside, letting Tenten into the apartment. "Sorry about the mess, Konohamaru is rather antsy when I get him a new tutor…"

"Oh, it's alright," Tenten said, stepping over a box of crayons that was thrown carelessly on the floor. "I've dealt with children like that before; they're my favorite," Tenten said.

"Well, I hope you won't find Konohamaru too troublesome."

Tenten couldn't help but grin at that word. "My friend says that word a lot," she commented as she side stepped over a bottle of water on the floor.

"One of the previous tutors also said that," Sarutobi chuckled as he stroked his beard. "I have to go out for a couple of hours for work; will this mess be okay for you to ignore? Konohamaru seemed to know the exact time you were going to come and messed the whole apartment up…"

"Oh it's fine," Tenten said, waving the matter off. "It's no big deal."

"Okay then, I will see you in five hours," Sarutobi said with a polite smile as he exited.

"Okay then…" Tenten sighed as she put the garbage can that was knocked over back in place. "Konohamaru! Come out wherever you are…" she muttered as she stuck her head in one of the rooms.

"You'll never find me!" She heard a voice yell. "Ahahahahahah—AH!" A loud thud followed his victorious laughter. "Ow…" Tenten heard him whine.

Tenten hurried to the source of the voice. A little boy around the age of 8 was on the floor, rubbing his head in pain. "What did you do to yourself…?" Tenten asked slowly, not quite getting the whole reason for his pain.

"Shut up! You'll never find me!" He repeated, running past Tenten and into one of the rooms.

"H-Hey!" Tenten shouted, being caught off-guard. "Come back here! We need to work on your math!" She shouted, chasing after Konohamaru.

"Never!" He replied back, locking the door. "You will never find me!!"

"Kid, give it a rest, I know that you're in the room…" Tenten said, struggling with the knob. "Open this door or I'll have to force it open!"

"You're a woman; you don't know how to force a door open!" He screamed back.

"That little…" Tenten breathed in and out, trying to calm herself. She wouldn't want to lose her job because she screamed profanity to a little kid—no, she was better than that. She took out a bobby pin from her pocket and tried to pick the lock. She smirked as she heard the click—the door was unlocked.

She opened the door quietly, peeping in to see Konohamaru on his bed, reading a magazine. "Why so quiet now huh! Did you finally realize that you're a woman and you can't do anything?!"

"So, let's start with fractions, shall we?" Tenten said, ignoring his stereotypical woman comment.

Konohamaru looked up, shocked. "You're not a woman!!" He exclaimed, jumping up on his bed and pointing at Tenten. "No woman can open a door like that!" As he tried to run across the room, he accidentally stepped on his rather long scarf, which resulted in him slipping and falling face flat on the floor. "Ow…" he whined yet again.

"Are you okay…?" Tenten asked, taking a step towards Konohamaru.

"…You'll never catch me!!" Konohmamaru suddenly jumped up and slammed the door shut after him.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Tenten cried, falling down to the floor.

-

"Now what's one-fourth multiplied by four-fortieths?" Tenten asked.

"Uh… uh…it's…" Konohamaru stumbled over his words as he watched Tenten's every move. When she suddenly lifted up her arm, Konohamaru cried. "No! Don't hurt me!!"

"…my shoulder was just itchy…" Tenten said. She smiled to herself as Konohamaru obediently looked down on his paper. He kept his pencil moving, which was a pleasant sound to Tenten.

'_Now that's more like it…'_

Tenten suddenly heard a jingle of keys from the front entrance of the apartment complex. She turned her head just in time to see Sarutobi walking in with groceries in his hands.

"Oh, you're back already?" Tenten asked, standing up. Konohamaru, realizing her sudden action, widened his eyes in fear as he continued to work on his math problem furiously.

"You actually got him to work?" Sarutobi asked, surprised. He gave Tenten a satisfied smile. "I knew I was right to hire you. I'll get your pay for the day," he said as he walked into the kitchen with the bag of groceries.

"Good work today, Konohamaru," Tenten said, patting him on the back.

He suddenly jumped up from the sudden contact. "Don't hurt me!" He pleaded, inching away from Tenten's patting hand. "I won't say that you're a woman anymore!"

"…eheh…" Tenten said, rubbing her head as she slowly brought back her hand.

'_Maybe my threat was a little bit too much…'_

"Here's your pay for today," Sarutobi said, coming back with a white envelope. He obviously hadn't heard the ruckus with Konohamaru a few seconds ago. "Feel free to come again in two days," he said, giving Tenten a polite smile.

"Thank you!" Tenten said. "This means a lot to me. So my tutoring days will be every two days?"

"Well, I was hoping since you actually made Konohamaru work," Sarutobi started, "that you would help him in other subjects, if you can. Is Saturday and Sunday good for you too?"

"Well…," Tenten looked at Konohamaru, who was quivering in fear. She smiled sheepishly at him; maybe she had scared him, a tad bit. "Maybe for three hours, but sure, Saturday and Sunday is good for me too."

"Alright then; so you'll come Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 4. I thank you a whole lot for helping Konohamaru," Sarutobi said, walking Tenten towards the door. "He can get quite troublesome sometimes." Sarutobi realized the word he used, and he chuckled yet again.

"Ah, no, it was fun," Tenten said,"He's a sweet kid."

'_And he's just like a ball of energy, making me chase him around like that…' _Tenten added silently in her head.

"I'll see you on Friday," Sarutobi said.

Tenten smiled at him, and waved before stepping out of the apartment room. She stretched with the envelope in her hand. "Mission Find a Job: Accomplished!" She said excitedly as she skipped down the hall.

"Tenten?"

Tenten abruptly stopped skipping. She turned around slowly, fearing who it was. "…hi, Misaki…" She grinned sheepishly.

"Were you _skipping _down the hallway?" Misaki asked, not believing what he had seen. He blinked. "Well. Let's pretend that I never saw that," he coughed as he directed his eyes somewhere else.

"Yeah, let's," Tenten said, sticking her white envelope into her pocket. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"I'm visiting my aunt," Misaki explained. "Her birthday's in a couple of days and she said she wanted to see me beforehand. What are _you _doing here?" He asked. "…skipping down the hallway…" he added softly.

"I heard that," Tenten said. "I was here tutoring one of the kids," Tenten said proudly.

"You?" Misaki laughed. "You, tutor?" He laughed once again. "Oh, that's just hilarious. Might as well tell the kid not to put any answers; he'll get a higher grade like that anyways."

"…you're funny," Tenten said dryly. "Anyways, I needed a job, and this was the best."

"Job? Why?" Misaki asked. "The Hyuugas already kicking you out? What did you do wrong now?" Misaki clicked his tongue as he shook his head at her. "And here I thought that you changed your ways."

"I did nothing!" Tenten defended herself. "Except for that vase I broke a while ago… but other than that, I did nothing wrong! I just thought, maybe taking up a job would teach me some responsibilities so that when I move out—"

"Oh please, Tenten. Responsibilities? You can't come up with a better excuse?"

"…shut up," Tenten said. "Anyways, I have to go. It's getting late and I didn't finish that much homework here while tutoring Konohamaru."

"You see, this is why the kid will fail. You probably accidentally taught him the stuff you're doing the homework instead of what he actually needs to learn," Misaki said, smirking.

'…_Did I do that?'_

"You did that, didn't you."

"…No! Of course not! What do you take me for, an idiot?!" Tenten said, frowning. "I have to get going; nice talking to you," she said, waving Misaki bye.

"Don't trip while skipping to the elevator!" His voice echoed in the empty hallways.

* * *

"Where were you?"

Tenten blinked at him. She didn't think that she would've run into him this quickly—especially right after she came home. "I was at my job."

'_Well, you couldn't really call that a job. But oh well,' _Tenten thought, as she tried to walk past Neji.

"Didn't I tell you that you didn't need a job?" Neji asked, stopping Tenten in her tracks.

"…Yeah, but when did I ever listen to you?" Tenten asked, blinking at Neji. She sighed. "I don't get why you're so… stuck on that idea. Why can't I have a job?"

"Because—"

"Tenten, perfect timing," Hiashi said, noticing the two teens in the hallway. "Come to my room. I need to speak with you." With that, Hiashi seemed to have floated away, with his light steps on the floor.

"Because?" Tenten asked, turning her attention back to Neji.

"Go," Neji said, "Hiashi-sama is calling for you." He, too, seemed to have floated away to his room.

"Stupid Hyuugas; their walking seem to make me feel like a man," Tenten muttered to herself as she tried to walk quietly towards Hiashi's room.

-

"Have a seat," Hiashi said, gesturing to one of the couches in the room.

Tenten obediently sat down, wondering what Hiashi wanted to talk to her about. "You said you wanted to speak to me about something?"

"Yes. I heard from someone that you have a job?" Hiashi questioned. Tenten nodded. Hiashi gave a small smile—he was satisfied. "I am just making sure. Do you have any ideas as for how the future will go for you? Any plans for the future?" He asked.

"Well… I'm not trying to rat Neji—ah, shoot I said his name…" Tenten muttered. Hiashi laughed. "Well… I already know about the whole deal; about Maki trying to get me to find a job and apartment..." Tenten said. "And well, I thought that finding an apartment was still too early. I was thinking of waiting until there was a month or two left, because I don't think I can exactly hold onto a room for that long…" She explained. "So, in the mean time, I'm trying to save up the money."

"I was planning to take care of the apartment costs," Hiashi admitted. "I didn't think that you would have gone out and gotten a job this fast," he said.

"Well I'm full of surprises…" Tenten said, laughing nervously; she had no idea what to say in this situation.

"Maki-san said that you wanted to leave for America one day," Hiashi said, going straight to the point. "Is this true?"

Tenten blinked at Hiashi's straightforwardness. "Uhm, I said that a while ago, like a year or two ago? I can't believe that he still remembered that…"

"So, you have no plans of leaving for America?"

"Well, no, not at the moment," Tenten replied. "I have wanted to see the sights there though… it's always just been a childhood dream of mine; I never actually wanted to live there. Only to visit," Tenten said.

"So that clarifies it," Hiashi said. "Tenten, I know this goes beyond our deal, but if you ever want to stay here more than six months, you're welcome to. We've all grown used to you already; it's a pity if you leave us."

Tenten smiled brightly. "Thanks. I've grown used to all of you too," she said softly.

* * *

_Thursday, February 1__st_

"So I heard you worked with the devil," Ino said, poking at her lunch. She frowned with distaste and moved on to the salad, which she stuffed with satisfaction into her mouth.

"How'd it go?" Kairi asked, breaking apart her chicken (she was using a bit too much force…).

"What are you two talking about?" Tenten asked, raising a brow. She took a bite out of her sandwich as she waited for Hinata to explain.

"We heard that you worked as a tutor for Konohamaru-kun," Hinata said, as she took small bites of her own sandwich.

"How'd you hear that? I only started working as his tutor yesterday…" Tenten said, chewing with suspicion.

"Word gets out fast," Ino said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Gossip within this group gets out even faster," she said, with Hinata nodding along.

"Well, a little birdie told me that you were skipping down the hallway of that apartment…" Kairi said with a devious smile. "So, tell me, is that what you're going to do every time you receive a bundle of money?"

Tenten's cheeks grew red as she glared at Kairi. "Misaki told you guys, didn't he…"

"I _said _a little birdie told me that," Kairi said, shoving a piece of chicken down her mouth. "Man, if I give you a 500 yen, will you skip around the lunchroom for me?"

"_No_, I will not," Tenten said, narrowing her eyes at Kairi. She heard Ino stifle her laughter. "And only 500 yen? How cheap," she said, taking another bite into her sandwich.

"Hey, you have no money when you have a brother, okay? And I can't tutor any of those troublesome kids anyways," Kairi said, still chewing on her piece of chicken.

"That word is driving me crazy," Tenten complained. "Sarutobi-san says it, and now you're saying it!"

"Sarutobi?" Ino's ears perked up. "Oh, I remember him! Isn't he Konohamaru's grandfather? Oh, he was so nice," Ino gushed as she reminisced the times about him. "He threw us a party, remember? When Shikamaru was quitting!"

"Shikamaru quit?" Tenten blinked. "He had the job as a tutor for Konohamaru?"

"Yeah; the reason for him saying troublesome all the time now," Kairi replied, gulping down her milk. "Anyways, that was over a year ago. He's still using that word? Man, he must've liked Shikamaru…" Kairi said, laughing to herself.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Sakura also had the job, too," she commented, pushing various fruits aside in her salad.

"…she had the job?" Tenten asked.

"Oh yeah," Kairi said, nodding along at the memory. "We went there to visit her once. Konohamaru loved her—she's the only one he didn't call 'woman'," Kairi said dryly as she narrowed her eyes at the thought of Konohamaru. "That motherfu—"

"O-Oh, look, there's Neji-niisan and the others," Hinata said,cutting off Kairi's curse. She desperately tried to change the conversation; she sensed Tenten's cheerful mood deteriorating rapidly.

"Heyyy Shikamaru, you wouldn't happen to have brought that milk for me, right?" Kairi asked, as he sat down in-between Kairi and Ino.

"Get your own," he said lazily.

She frowned at Shikamaru. A light bulb seemed to appear on top of her head as she turned to Sasuke, who sat next to her. "Heyyy, Sasuke—"

"Hands off."

"Bastards, all of you," Kairi muttered as she got up to get her own milk.

"So where's Naruto?" Tenten asked, noticing that the hyperactive blonde kid was yet again, missing from the group of four guys.

"He's out doing some work for Anko," Shikamaru replied. "He says he doesn't want to fail…"

Ino scoffed. "Which means that he should fail his other classes already. He doesn't even have her as a teacher for any of his other classes."

"…At least he's trying…?" Hinata said, trying to defend Naruto.

Neji glared at Hinata for that, but she decided to not notice it. "Aw, Hinata, we all know that you'll defend your lover boy no matter what," Ino said.

"N-No, that's not true!" Hinata protested, as she suddenly grew scarlet red.

"Yes it is!" Ino insisted, nudging Hinata by her side.

She scooted down to Tenten, feeling very embarrassed (not to mention ticklish) by Ino's gesture. "Stop bullying Hinata, Ino," Shikamaru said.

"Are you all busy next Saturday and Sunday?" Neji spoke up.

"Why?"

"What's the special occasion, Hyuuga?"

"Are we going on a trip!?"

"Are you?" He asked impatiently.

"Well, I have my job is on Saturdays and Sundays too…" Tenten said in a small voice. As soon as Neji turned to glare at her, she smiled sheepishly. "But I'll work it out; I'll try to get off next Saturday and Sunday…"

"Are we going somewhere?" Ino asked excitedly.

"Just some place," Neji said, not revealing the destination. "So, I'll tell you what to pack and what time we're going to meet up once I get everything booked."

"I bet he's doing this for Tenten~" Ino sang. "Shikamaru, how come you never do anything like this for me? Valentine's Day _is _in two weeks, you know!"

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed as he scratched his head. "Look what you started, Neji."

"Tenten, you're so lucky to have someone like Neji…" Ino sighed as she stared off into oblivion, saddening fantasizing the day where Shikamaru would be the prince that she always dreamt of. Of course, that oblivion lasted only for a short amount of time.

"Hey guys!! Hi—whoa, watch where you're—"

And with that, Naruto went flying forward with his lunch, and shortly after, Ino screamed.

Milk dripped down from her face, and her hair soaked the rest of it up. Splotches of white colored her cotton sweater, and ketchup splattered on her hair, making it seem like she only dyed parts of it red.

"Naruto…" Ino said with obvious anger.

"Eheh…" He said sheepishly as he rubbed his head. "Sorry?"

Kairi, choosing that exact moment to come in, blinked at the situation. She pursed her lips; "You leave for one second to get milk and all of a sudden you miss everything," she muttered angrily to herself.

* * *

_Reviewers(;_

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_P.S.: Happy Birthday to my anonymous reader, RUNOS SISTER (: (…even if I was a couple of months late… :x)_

I suck. Big time. I broke my promise to all of you ): …summer got in the way, let's go with that :x Well, I didn't do that well on one of my exams – but I think it's not _that _bad of a score, considering the circumstances I was in. Ah well; there are always more exams to follow up.

Well, nowadays it'll be hard to update at all. School is torture; much worse than last year. I have a presentation in Spanish tomorrow (and y'know, I always get nervous and stutter over my words), an English presentation on Tuesday (yay; I'm not presenting, but I still haven't done the work for it… darn my group-mate and her procrastination), a math test on Tuesday (easy as pie –since I'm asian, whee, let's go with the stereotype, haha– but my teacher grades like a !&*$), a Shakespeare quiz and Spanish test on Thursday (I can now say that I hate Shakespeare. Period.), and I have a Global project due who-knows-when. :l

So now you see what I'm buried under? I feel guilty just writing this and not preparing for my presentation tomorrow… but who gives a damn, I have a 98 average in Spanish : ) … oh gosh, I feel like a nerd.

The title, **Bad Girl **is by **BEAST**. …ignore the odd name… The song gets catchy after a while (:

I only doubled the pages—or at least that's what Microsoft tells me. Lalala; it already hit February! And you know what's going to happen in this month~ (; Oh, and if anyone spots grammatical mistakes, can you point that out to me? I'm too lazy to read everything over and check it… darn me and my lazy butt.

Oh, but guess what my group's Spanish project is on? Hannah Montana! …I know, shoot me, ahahah. Do you guys like her? Dislike her? (; I wouldn't say I hate her, but I don't love her either. She's just… there.

**WhippedCoffee(:  
**_peace to all. (:_


	39. Feb 9 & 10, Fri & Sat

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Three**  
_Day Twenty-two & Twenty-three_

**Chapter Thirty-Nine****—**Tired of Waiting

_Friday, February 9th_

"How are you getting this wrong?!"

"We can't all be as smart as you Tenten!" Konohamoru whined. "It's not fault that they make this so hard to understand!" He pouted to himself.

Tenten closed her eyes and sighed to herself. Two hours**—**she had been spending two hours wondering how in the world he could have gotten the same question wrong. "Three more hours..." She muttered.

"If you don't like it here then why do you keep coming..." He muttered to himself, showing his intense dislike for her. "I like Sakura-chan better..."

Tenten opened her eyes and stared at Konohamoru. He was still in his angry state: crossed arms, pouty face and narrowed eyes. She felt something stir inside her; again, she was reminded of Sakura. He liked Sakura; why couldn't he like her, too? What was so great about Sakura that made everyone love her? What spell did she cast everyone under every time she med a person?

She made a small noise of resentment. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. Being a jealous bitch was not her; Tenten knew she had to stop all this nonsense thinking.

"Here! I'm done! Can I watch my show now?" He asked. Without waiting for an answer though, he rushed to sit in front of the television.

Tenten picked up his homework. It was horrendous; even though she was there with him, telling him how to solve the problem, he still managed to have a mistake in every problem. She groaned and made the corrections herself; it was less painful just doing his homework for him.

-

"Thank you for watching Konohamaru," Sarutobi said. "Here is your pay for the past week," he handed Tenten the same white envelope she had gotten since her first day.

"Thank you, Sarutobi-san," Tenten said with a smile as she put away the envelope. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said, heading out the door. She paused, suddenly remembering that Neji wanted to go somewhere the next day. "Sarutobi-san," she started, turning back to face him. "Do you think I can get off for the next two days?" She asked.

"If you must, you can," Sarutobi said after a minute of thinking. "But if you don't have to, can you stay with him for a while tomorrow? I have something important to do tomorrow, and I can't be there to watch him."

Tenten bit her lip. She didn't want to say no, but at the same time, she didn't want to tell Neji that she couldn't go. "I'll... I guess I don't really have to go," Tenten sighed. "Never mind. I'll tell them I can't make it," she said.

"I'm sorry for putting you through this," Sarutobi said with a grateful smile. "I'll double your pay for tomorrow if you –"

"Don't worry about it," Tenten said, shaking her head. She definitely didn't want him to go through the trouble of doing that. "The pay now is fine."

"But if there's anything at all—Oh, I remember now," Sarutobi said, nodding his head. "Hiashi-san told me this when I saw him the other day. You're looking for a place to live in, right?"

Tenten blinked. Could this be it?

Is she finally moving out of the Hyuuga Manor?

"There's a vacant room two floors up," Sarutobi explained. "I saw the previous people who lived there move about a couple of weeks ago. I think it should still be empty. If you want to rent it, I can talk to the landlord and get you a discount on that room."

Tenten widened her eyes. "I can't possibly – it's fine, Sarutobi-san. You've already done so much for me already, and you're practically paying me triple of what you should be paying me, I don't want you to go as far as to ask for a discount for me –"

"It's not a problem," Sarutobi insisted. "We're old friends from a while ago, so if I ask for a discount, he'll surely give me one. This is the least I can do for making you tutor Konohamoru. Even if he doesn't show it, he's growing to like you," he said with a smile. "He's even doing better in school."

Tenten smiled at the thought of that. "I'll... I'll think about it," she finally said. "I don't know if I'll have enough money though, to pay for rent every month. I'm bound to go broke, right?" Tenten laughed, scratching her head.

"With the amount I'm giving you, you don't have to worry," Sarutobi offered her a kind smile. "I'll talk it over with the landlord. If you change your mind, you can ask me anytime. See you tomorrow, Tenten," he nodded to her.

"Thanks," Tenten replied gratefully.

_Is this the end?_

* * *

"Why are you coming back so late?"

First thing she came home to, was the bombardment of questions from Neji.

"What are you, my mom?" Tenten joked. Not seeing a smile from Neji – not that she was expecting one, anyways – she sighed. "Sarutobi-san needed to talk to me about something."

"Did you get fired already?"

Tenten blinked. Maybe he wasn't so angry after all. "No!" She said, giving Neji a bright smile. "It was about something else. Did you need something? You don't usually check up on me," Tenten mused.

"Did you forget already?" He smirked, knowing fully well that she had already forgotten. "Pack your things; we're leaving tomorrow."

She blinked in confusion. "Pack...? Pack for what?"

He only smirked.

She sighed, the thoughts from before came back. "Sorry Neji, but... I can't go tomorrow. I tried clearing it with Sarutobi-san, but he desperately needs someone tomorrow. I feel bad for just leaving him so..." Her expression was filled with guilt as she tried to meet Neji's eyes.

"It's fine," Neji said. "I'll just cancel it. We can go another time."

She sensed his rising anger. She frowned as his retreating back, not knowing what to say. Where did he want to go so badly?

"What were you planning?" Tenten asked, trying to catch up with him.

"Nowhere," was his curt reply.

"You're angry," she muttered under her breath. "Was it that special of a place?" Tenten sighed as she continued to follow Neji to his room.

"You wanted to go to America," Tenten heard, and then the door slammed.

_You wanted to go to America._

_You wanted to go to America._

Tenten smiled at his thoughtfulness. It ended shortly however, when she thought about how she couldn't go. She leaned against his door and sighed to herself.

Maybe she should just skip work.

It wasn't like Konohamaru would actually miss her.

* * *

_Saturday, February 10__th_

_This is it._

_This is what I've been waiting for._

She bit her lip as she stared outside the taxi window. Familiar buildings started to disappear as the taxi entered the highway. She craned her neck, saying goodbye to quaint house silently. She blinked back tears before she could burst out crying.

_This is it._

_I'm finally going back._

"You okay there?"

The taxi driver snapped her out of her thoughts. She blinked consecutively before realizing that he was talking to her, not to the phone he was using just seconds ago. "Ah," she said quietly. "I'm fine. I'm just nervous, I guess," she said, more to herself than to the driver.

He chuckled, cutting a car on the next lane. "I know what you mean. Where are you heading?" He asked, politely making conversation.

"Japan," she said.

The word felt so foreign to her. She used to say it with pride, with happiness, whenever anyone asked where she came from. Now, it felt empty.

It felt like she wasn't from there anymore.

"Japan," he repeated. "That's far," he commented. He chuckled after a pause, "I'm guessing that that's your home county. My kids wanted to go there..." He seemed to be reminiscing about his kids, before continuing with what he was going to say. "Have you been away for long?"

"Very long..." She said quietly. "A little too long, I think," she laughed to herself. "I wonder if everyone forgot about me, though. I wouldn't be surprised if they did."

"Now I don't know about that," he said. "I bet your parents would still remember you."

She smiled sadly, staring at the palm of her hands. A tear drop fell, but she blinked back the rest of her tears. "My parents..." She tried hard to stop herself from breaking down. She laughed, hiding the tears that she wanted to let out. "They're not in Japan."

"Oh," the driver commented. "Where are they then?" he coughed, laughing awkwardly. "I'm being too nosy, aren't I?"

"They're not here," she stated, staring out the window.

_I'll be strong._

_I won't let them fall anymore._

_I'm strong now._

"_... predicted snowfall. There will be about five to eight inches. Travelers should exercise caution. There will be expected delays in the departures of these following airports – "_

"That's just great," the driver muttered angrily. "We just had some snow two days ago! Your flight will probably be delayed until tomorrow, if the snow accumulates," he said, shaking his head. "This is insane."

She bit her lip. "Hopefully it won't be a big storm," she said, staring at the white sky. "It looks like it'll snow any time now."

"The weather this year is just horrible..."

"It's raining," she said, staring outside the window.

"As if snow wasn't enough by itself..." The driver complained. "This is ridiculous..."

* * *

"Why doesn't it snow!" Kairi complained, dropping her head on the table.

"Then it would turn into brown slush," Ino said with distaste. "Do you really want that?" She continued to stare at herself in her small compact mirror,.

"I'll push you into it," Kairi muttered to herself as she brought her head up. "Can you stop staring at yourself? You're not that pretty, you know."

"_Excuse_ me?" Ino snapped her mirror shut and glared at Kairi. "Why are you so crabby today? Did Misaki put itching powder in your underwear again or something?" She said hotly, shoving her mirror into her purse.

"I'm here!" Tenten shouted, bursting into the cafe. "...Did something happen while I was coming here...?" She sensed the deadly aura between Ino and Kairi, who were glaring at each other.

"Nothing happened," Kairi said, breaking eye contact with Ino. "Nothing happened at all." She said.

"Okay," Tenten said, not wanting to know the reason for their argument this time. "Since we're all good and well here..." She started off. "Wait, where's Hinata?"

"She couldn't come," Ino replied, taking out her compact mirror again. "Her father needed her for something."

"Would you _stop_?" Kairi said irritably.

"What is _wrong _with you these days?!" Ino shouted, gaining attention from others in the cafe. "Are you on your period, or _what_? You've been picking fights with me day after day, and I'm sick of it! Sorry Tenten, but I'll see you another time, when _that _isn't away," she huffed, storming out of the cafe.

"...What did you do?" Tenten asked warily, glancing at Kairi.

Kairi shrugged, playing with the napkin that was set out on the table. "She's just extra sensitive today..." Kairi sighed, and leaned back on her chair. "Okay, fine, I was being extra mean. I just needed to get rid of her for today, she'll get over it later."

"Why do you need to get rid – " Tenten widened her eyes in realization. "Oh, Kairi, I'm sorry but –"

"Shut up, I'm straight," Kairi glared at Tenten for her fake assumption. In return, Tenten smiled sheepishly. "What else was I supposed to think...?" Tenten laughed, getting up to sit in Ino's seat across from Kairi. "Did you want to tell me something then?"

"I'll tell you later," Kairi said, waving the subject away. "Did you figure out what to get Neji for Valentine's Day yet?" She smiled knowingly at Tenten, who blushed.

"Not yet," Tenten replied. "That's why I called you guys out today, to help me look for something, but you _had _to scare Ino away..." She frowned at Kairi, who could another shrug in response. "Sometimes, I wonder how you two even became friends..."

"I wonder that too, sometimes," Kairi said. "We can do fine without Ino," she said. "Who needs her? I'm just as good!"

"You're getting quite defensive," Tenten observed. "Did anything happen?"

"Nothing happened," Kairi said. "So, what does he like?"

Tenten thought about it. "He doesn't like a lot of things..."

"...Okay, then fine. What doesn't he hate?"

"He hates a lot of things..."

"Is there _anything _that he likes?"

"He likes me?" Tenten laughed at her own joke, wishing that she hadn't said it. "Never mind what I just said, that was a stupid joke..."

Kairi's eyebrow twitched at her lame joke. "Well then, give yourself to him on V-Day, why don't you..." She said.

"What else!" Tenten asked, ignoring what Kairi suggested. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't like anything like chocolates, and if I buy him clothes for Valentine's Day, that would be really awkward, plus I don't even know his sizes –"

"Stop talking," Kairi sighed, rubbing her temples. "I'm getting a headache. I want to go home and sleep..." She whined. "It's like 7 PM and you call me out here!"

"It's in four days! I still don't know what to get him," Tenten frowned, tearing her napkin. "Should I cook him something...?" Tenten asked, slowly smiling at the idea.

"Are you trying to poison him? Do you want him dead? Do you hate him that much?" Kairi bombarded Tenten with questions towards her sanity. "I think you need to go home and sleep on it if you're thinking about cooking him something..."

"Well he doesn't hate food, at least, some food right?" Tenten continued talking, as if Kairi hadn't spoken at all. "And if I find out what he likes from the chefs, then that could be –"

"Do you _hear _yourself right now?" Kairi said, exasperated.

"I think it's a good idea..." Tenten glared at Kairi. "I'll go and ask them what they cook for Neji. Thanks for your help Kairi!" She bounced up from her seat and rushed to the door, leaving Kairi by herself.

"...You're welcome," Kairi muttered to herself. She suddenly perked up, realizing that she forgot something.

"I forgot to tell her about Sakura..."

* * *

_"We apologize for the inconvenience. All flights will be delayed until tomorrow."_

Angry shouts and complaints filled the airport. Many grumbled, others were already asleep with blankets. Sakura frowned to herself as she realized that she had to spend the night in an airport.

Bored to death, she took out her cell phone to make a call. She desperately wanted to talk to someone, since she had gone for a few hours without speaking. Her finger hovered over the call button when she scrolled down to Neji's name.

_It would be weird to call him now..._

She continued to scroll down the list of entries. Once again, she stopped.

_Uchiha Sasuke..._

She wondered if he still liked her. Truthfully, there had been a time when she developed a huge crush on him, during the time she was going out with Neji. She couldn't help but feel attracted to Sasuke – it was like her body wanted him. She knew that she couldn't be with him, since she was with Neji. If she broke up with Neji, and went after Sasuke... She could only imagine what could have happened to the relationship between the two friends. She didn't want to ruin their friendship with each other – she just couldn't.

Instead, she stayed with Neji.

She didn't regret the decision. She liked being with him – he made her laugh, smile, and she had fun when she was with him. She never thought of the pain Sasuke felt when he saw her with Neji. She didn't know at all, until they fought.

The situation she was trying so hard from happening, happened. They fought each other, throwing mindless punches in every direction.

It was all her fault.

She was stupid for thinking that her happiness, his happiness, everyone's happiness at the time would last. She was stupid for feeling that Sasuke would eventually forget about her, no matter how much that hurt her, and find someone else. She was stupid for hoping that everything would be the way it was.

She was just stupid.

Sakura sighed as she continued to scroll down the list. It was truly a boring wait. She had at least twelve hours before the snow stopped. She stopped at a name, and smiled.

_Uzumaki Naruto_.

She remembered how he approached her on the first day of school. He acted like he liked her – if he really did, she would never know, but he seemed to be obsessed with her. Every period of the day, she would see him around the corner. It was kind of scary, but at the same time, she felt happy to see someone familiar.

He would always cheer her up whenever something happened. He was the bridge that connected her to Sasuke, in a weird way. He was the reason she met him, and all the others.

She was thankful that Naruto stayed by her side. Even though he was annoying almost every other day, every time she couldn't say anything to her girl friends, she went to Naruto.

He was her best friend.

Sakura sighed.

It was stupid to run away to America, leaving everyone back in Konoha. It was stupid to not tell them what happened. It was stupid to not say anything at all.

But she was willing to change that.

She was willing to come clean.

* * *

-

-

I died.

Just kidding. I didn't update on Valentine's Day/Lunar New Years. But, here it is! Next time, I'm not setting a due date for chapters... Haha, well, I'm planning (more like attempting) to get the next chapter out quick, as an apology for stringing you guys along for like, three years. Holy, that's a long time...

I don't know if I still have any readers left, but oh well. Personally, I'm starting to not like this story anymore... I'm excited about my new one; **1004**. (: But no fear, it will come to an end, eventually. I just had this sudden burst of inspiration on how it will end.

Today was a snow day for me; no school, yay! It's still snowing now; well, periodically. It just randomly stops sometimes, and then starts again. I love the white sky when it snows... it feels just like white paper (:

So guys, I'm reading A Tale of Two Cities for English class; want to help me with my homework? :D , what are some social criticisms in there? xD , it would be of great help if you give me some ideas~

Short chapter, shoot me. Next chapter... I want it to be longer. But oh well. I apologize for all the grammatical errors; I'm too lazy to go back and revise. ):

**WhippedCoffee(:  
**_good day to all._


	40. Feb 11, Sun

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

_- _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

_-_

**Month Three**  
_Day Twenty-four_

**Chapter Forty****—**Lupin

"Passengers, please buckle your seatbelts," the stewardess announced.

Sakura hastily buckled her seatbelt, her fingers shaking with nervousness.

This was it. She was in Japan.

* * *

"Hey," Sakura breathed out quietly.

"Hi..." another greeted back.

"Kairi –"

"No, don't worry about it. I don't know all the details, but you must have left for a good reason, right?" Kairi offered her a sheepish smile. "It's okay. I didn't tell the others that you're back so..."

"Thanks," Sakura said gratefully. "I'll tell you everything, if you want to know but... I guess I'm just jetlagged now," she laughed awkwardly as she brushed back her hair. "How are things here?"

"Nothing new," Kairi said, linking arms with Sakura. "Let's go to your new apartment!" She cried, skipping down the airport with Sakura.

Sakura laughed, enjoying her company. It felt like it had been so long since she felt this joy in her – this was the reason she came back.

As they entered the taxi, Kairi shouted the destination address. "So, Sakura..." She started, getting comfortable in the taxi as the driver started driving. "Care to tell me why you disappeared? It was crazy after you left," Kairi contemplated, thinking back to when Sakura first left, "Neji was horribly – " She quickly shut her mouth. The look on Sakura's face made her think twice about telling her what exactly happened after she left.

"Is he okay now?" She asked in a quiet face. She refused to meet Kairi's eyes – Sakura didn't want Kairi to see the small tears forming in her eyes. "It was stupid of me to leave without telling you guys anything," she admitted regretfully. She blinked back her tears, refusing to cry. She gave Kairi a bright smile, "But I'm back. For good."

Kairi smiled back. "That's good to hear. So, do I have to tell the others that you're back, or are you going to do it yourself?"

Sakura blinked. "I thought by now the whole world would've known I was back already," she joked. To this, Kairi frowned, wrinkles forming on her forehead. "Hey, I'm not that much of a big mouth!" She protested. "That's Naruto," she mumbled to herself.

Sakura laughed, enjoying the happiness she felt. It had been a long time since she felt this way. "I'll surprise them," she said.

Kairi eyed her warily. "Okay... just don't scare them too much," she commented.

The taxi pulled up in front of an apartment just as their conversation ended. It was an average sized apartment – five stories high. It Sakura a familiar feeling, but she couldn't put her finger on it. As she got out of the car, she noticed that the neighborhood was quaint. There was a little grocery store down the block, and a cafe up the block. The street was practically empty, giving her a weird vibe. She shrugged it off – she was used to crowded places, but now that she was pretty much alone on the street, she felt out of place.

"Cook for yourself!" Sakura heard Kairi complain. Sakura eyed Kairi's cell phone, assuming that it must've been her brother that Kairi was talking to. "I don't care if you don't know how to make a sandwich, make it yourself!" Kairi shouted irritably. Sakura winced at the rising volume of Kairi's voice. "_You put meat in between bread,_ how hard is that?!"

Sakura saw a twitch in Kairi's face.

"You're so disgusting, pervert. Stop watching your stupid porn and learn how to cook; I'm not coming back home to cook you food," Kairi finally hung up, giving Sakura a big grin. "Well that got rid of that idiot. I have to go now, but do you need help with anything?" She asked, eyeing the three bags of luggage that Sakura carried.

Sakura shook her head. "I'll be fine. You can go ahead; I've already asked so much from you."

Kairi nodded, giving her a wave. "See you later!" She shouted, as she jogged down the block.

Sakura stared after Kairi, smiling slightly. She turned back to her new apartment, and sighed, grabbing her luggage. As she entered the apartment, she heard a familiar, loud scream.

"Sakura-chan!!"

She was confused; did someone know that she was here already? But that couldn't be it... She turned around, wondering who could have possibly found out that she was back in Japan already. Once she recognized the face, she broke out into a wide smile.

"Konohamoru!" She greeted, dropping her luggage. That was the reason why the building felt so familiar to her – she used to come here every other day for her tutoring with Konohamaru. "How are you?" She asked politely, crouching down to get to be at face level with him.

He gave her a toothy grin. "I'm fine!" He answered excitedly. Suddenly he frowned. "Why did you leave?"

Sakura blinked – even Konohamoru knew about her situation?

"I had to get a new tutor because you left me!" He whined.

She laughed – so that was it. "Who's your new tutor?" She asked curiously. "She can't be that bad."

"Her name's Tenten," Konohamoru said with distaste. "She has these buns for her hair that makes her look like a panda! Can't you be my tutor again?" Konhamoru frowned at her, clearly showing dislike towards Tenten.

"Tenten?" Sakura repeated. The name sounded familiar to her, although she couldn't figure out where she heard it from. "I can't just take her job from her, Konohamoru," Sakura lectured as she stood up. "You'll just have to grow to like her, okay? I have to go now. Maybe I'll see you and Tenten around here," she smiled, waving goodbye.

"Sakura-chan!" Konohamoru said, stopping Sakura in her tracks. She turned around, wondering what he could have wanted with her. "Can I play with you today?" Konohamoru asked with hope.

Sakura laughed. "Sorry Konohamoru, but I have set up my new room," she said with an apologetic smile. "We can play another time, okay?"

"I can help!" He insisted.

Sakura sighed, looking at Konohamoru. There was no getting rid of him – after a few months of tutoring him, she knew what he was capable of. "Alright – but you better not goof off," she said, a smile lingering on her face. "I'll come get you later," she said, waving bye.

"Bye, Sakura-chan!" Konohamoru shouted.

Once in her new apartment room, Sakura fell to the floor from exhaustion. Apparently the elevator stopped working, and in order to get to the fourth floor, she had to walk up eight flights of stairs. In other words, it was just plan torture for her.

Sakura stood up, breathing deeply as she grabbed her suitcase. She could always pick up Konohamoru later – hopefully, he lived in the same room as he did before.

And the unpacking began.

* * *

"I still don't know why you insist on this. Obviously I'm not needed here..." Kairi sighed, looking at Tenten with a bored face. "After all, you have _her_ here."

Ino chose to ignore Kairi, and continued to play on her phone. In a hurry, she clicked a few buttons, signaling the fact that she was texting someone. "Did you need something, Tenten? I have a date later at six, and I need to get ready."

Kairi snorted. "That's something new. Who knew that someone can take six hours to get ready?"

"Shut it, Kairi!" Ino shouted, slamming her hands down on the table. "Why are you always like this?!"

"Guys..." Tenten tried to be the peacemaker, but failed.

Truth be told, she didn't need any of them for any reason. She wanted to help them out – they seemed rather tense with each other lately. Sure, they had their fights every other day, but for the past couple of days, it seemed to be unsettling. The glares that the two sent to each other was making Tenten nervous – what in the world happened?

Kairi pursed her lips, knowing that she was at fault there. "Sorry," she managed to utter out softly. As hard as it was for her, she apologized to a satisfied Ino. Kairi groaned, letting herself fall on Tenten's bed. "Misaki's been driving me crazy lately. Not to mention my homework's been piling up, and exams are coming..."

_And Sakura's back... _She added silently in her head. She rolled over, not wanting to look at Tenten's face. How would she tell her? She had no idea what to do about the situation – it would certainly cause an uproar within their group. Kairi tuned out the meaningless ramblings of Ino towards Tenten, and started to plan out what she would do.

Of course, she would have to tell Tenten one way or another – it's not like she could hide the fact that Sakura was back here. And even if she did tell Tenten... how would she take it? Kairi knew that Tenten would try to hide any feelings that she had on the topic. Kairi sighed. Why was this so hard?

"Are you okay, Kairi?" Tenten asked, her tone laced with concern.

"Probably just dreaming about food again," Ino commented thoughtlessly. A moment of silence passed, before it was broken by Ino's squeal. She received a text message from none other then Shikamaru. "Sorry Tenten," came Ino's quick decision. She stood up, gathering her belongings into her bag. "Shika has to do something later on this evening so he can't make it – so we're going now." She groaned unexpectedly, quickly taking out her compact mirror. "This is horrible!" She cried as she stared at her make-up. Quickly remembering that she had plans, she shoved everything into her bag. Rushing out of Tenten's room, she stopped halfway to bid farewell. "See you two later!" She chimed, resuming her hurried rush.

"So much for peacemaking..." Tenten muttered to herself, sitting in the place where Ino had previously sat. "Are you okay?" She repeated, eyeing Kairi's odd position on her bed. "You seem kind of out of it..."

"Mm," was all she got from Kairi.

Tenten sighed as she nodded her head. "Of course Kairi," was her lame reply. She got up, suddenly feeling hungry. Sneaking a glance towards the door, Tenten wondered if Kairi would notice if she disappeared for awhile. Taking in account of Kairi's lax position on her bed, she smiled to herself.

Of course Kairi wouldn't notice.

As she took her first step down the stairs, she was thrown into a faint memory from what happened a few hours ago. She knew the reason as to why Kairi was acting like that. It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was bothering her – namely, the topic of Sakura.

Tenten wasn't dumb. She finally reached the end of the staircase, and started heading towards the kitchen. She knew that Kairi was debating on how to tell her the news. Tenten sighed as she sat on one of the stools, staring blankly at the white wall. She didn't have the heart to tell Kairi that she already knew – truthfully, she didn't even want to approach the topic.

_"Why are you here," Konohamoru asked, crossing his arms and giving her a look of dislike._

_Tenten blinked at him, wondering why he was extra mean this particular day. "Shouldn't you be in your room playing superhero or something?" Tenten asked. Shaking her head, she sighed. "Never mind that. Where's Sarutobi-san?" She asked, not hearing the familiar sound of cooking on a Sunday morning._

_"I don't play superhero!" Konohamoru protested. He glared at Tenten, as if he was thinking about something before, running off into the apartment. Shortly after, she heard him running back towards her, with a white envelope in his hands. "Here!" He shouted, shoving it into her hands. Satisfied with having done what he was told to do, he ran back to the living room, continuing to watch his morning cartoon shows._

_Tenten opened the letter slowly – this was just too weird._ _As she quickly scanned the contents of the letter, she felt disappointment settle in her stomach. So she wasn't needed today, after all. Tenten sighed, putting the letter in her jacket pocket. She could've gone with Neji..._

_She took a step into the room, staring at Konohamoru's excited expression. However, it immediately changed when he caught sight of Tenten's face. "What are you still doing here?" He demanded._

_"Alright, alright," she said, holding up her hands like a criminal. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving," she said, taking a step backwards. "Are you sure you'll be alright alone though?" She asked with concern, looking around the apartment._

_"I won't be alone!" He proudly claimed._

_"You won't?" She asked, confused. "You found someone to watch over you?"_

_"Sakura-chan will be with me!"_

_"Sa...kura?" Tenten asked, even more confused. Was it the same Sakura that she knew – or rather, heard of? But that couldn't be it. Because she was supposed to be –_

_"She just moved in today!" Konohamoru shouted excitedly._

_It was the first time she had seen him this excited around her. Tenten smiled softly to herself. It was kind of cute._

_"I saw in the lobby an hour ago! She had these bags, and she was moving into an apartment here!"_

Tenten sighed as she focused her attention on a random dark spot on the white wall. She was amused by this – if the Hyuugas spotted that, they would probably go ballistic.

She couldn't help herself – she wished that Sakura hadn't come back at all. But Tenten knew that it was stupid for wishing – wishes never come true. She should have known that by now. Tenten grumbled to herself, as she fidgeted with her fingers. What was going to happen to Neji? How will he take the news? No matter how much Tenten hoped, she knew that deep down, maybe all the way deep down, Neji still had a soft spot for her. It didn't take a genius to figure that out – after all, everyone had soft spots for their firsts.

She just wanted to know how much Neji will be affected by Sakura. She pretty much vanished without a goodbye – and to even think that he would go back to her just because she returned out of the blue... Tenten sighed softly. It was too much for her – her head hurt, just thinking about it. Just when she thought that maybe, maybe her life had taken a turn for the better – this kind of thing happens.

"Tenten?"

Tenten blinked. Speak of the devil.

"Hey, Neji," Tenten greeted, too tired to turn around to face him properly. "How's it going?" She asked nonchalantly. She inwardly smacked herself for sounding out of character.

"You do not have work?" Tenten noticed that his voice came from the same direction – he wasn't planning on moving any time soon. She sighed, knowing there was no way to avoid him.

"Sarutobi-san cancelled it last minute. Konohamoru got – " She paused, choosing her words carefully. Should she tell him now? Or just leave it until Sakura contacted him? No doubt, Sakura would probably make contact with him sooner or later, since she was in fact, here to stay. "...someone else to watch him," she finished lamely.

She didn't hear a response from him, but felt movement on her right side. "Did something happen?" He asked quietly.

Tenten stared at the palm of her hands. She debated in her head furiously, wondering if she should tell him or not. "No," she replied with a smile, looking up at his face, which was more or less, blank. "Nothing happened." She murmured, looking down at her hands again.

She knew that he didn't believe her, but he left it at that. Neji looked at Tenten, slowly grabbing her hand. Tenten looked up, shocked. "Neji...?"

"Don't worry about it too much," he said quietly, as if afraid that someone would overhear them talking. "Six o'clock," he said in his normal tone. "Since you don't have work, meet me at the park."

With that, he dropped her hand after a small squeeze – one that she would have missed if she hadn't concentrated on how nice his hand on hers felt. He left the room as quickly as he came in, which left Tenten in a daze.

"Park?" She asked herself, wondering what he meant by that.

There were millions of parks. How could she know which one he wanted to go to? Tenten frowned to herself. It was moments like these where she felt like smacking Neji across the head for being so vague. Moments passed, and she finally realized what he meant.

"Park," she repeated softly.

She could feel her heart beat a little faster at that thought.

"Well I see that I'm not needed," Kairi's voice behind her nearly scared her to death.

"I thought you were – "

"No, I somehow resurrected myself from your bed," Kairi said, taking a seat next to Tenten. She grabbed a grape chewed thoughtfully on it, pondering on something. "I was just feeling tired, that's all."

_'So she isn't planning on telling me...?' _Tenten thought to herself, frowning ever so slightly. She dismissed that thought. Kairi probably had her own reasons for not saying anything, or maybe even forgot about it. Tenten couldn't hold that against her. "You looked pretty much dead when I left you in my room."

"I did," Kairi nodded along, having no idea what Tenten was saying as she continued to eat the grapes set out on the counter.

Tenten sighed, wondering what she should do with Kairi. She was so out of it today, Tenten concluded. "You have got to be kidding me!" Tenten heard Kairi groan, at the exact same time her phone went off. "You pick up," Kairi said, shoving the phone in front of Tenten's face.

Taking it reluctantly, Tenten read the caller ID. "Misaki?" She blinked. "What's wrong with your brother calling you?" She asked curiously. Kairi shook her head, covering her ears with her hands. "Just pick up before I go crazy!" She cried in distress.

Clicking on the green button, Tenten had to holdl the phone a meter away from her face as Misaki's voice blared out from the speakers.

_"Make me food!" _He demanded.

"Hi to you too, Misaki," Tenten said awkwardly, not wanting to be in this situation. "Uh, Kairi's in a... predicament," Tenten said, eyeing at how crazed Kairi looked right about now, with random locks of hair sticking up in different directions (due to being on Tenten's bed), and her constant rocking with her hands glued to her ears.

_"Tenten?" _Misaki questioned from the other end. _"Even better! Hey, you should come visit me. Along with that, want to bring over some things and make me food?" _He suggested eagerly.

Tenten laughed. "Make yourself food."

_"What! You sound like Kairi now, jeez. You women are all the same," _she heard him grumble to himself.

Tenten inwardly twitched at that comment, but decided to spare Misaki's ear by not yelling. She continued to stare at Kairi's odd form, rocking herself back and forth. "Misaki... what happened to Kairi?" She asked quietly, turning away from her. "She's acting like..."

_"Like a freak?" _Misaki chuckled. _"She always does. Don't worry, it'll blow over by the end of this week. She gets like that once in a while – doctor says it's due to stress. Now will you come over and cook for me?" _He asked. Tenten could hear the hope in his voice.

"It was that bad that she had to go to the doctor's?" Tenten asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

_"More like her own personal shrink – "_

"Go eat shit!" Kairi yelled, grabbing the phone from Tenten and ending the call. She frowned at the phone for a few seconds before throwing it on the table. She glanced at Tenten, who gave her a worried expression. Kairi sighed – she didn't want to explain everything that Misaki spewed out. He had a big mouth...

"Guess Neji wasn't the only one who had taken Sakura's disappearance badly," Kairi gave Tenten a half smile.

"I don't think I've told you this before..." Kairi started slowly, avoiding eye contact with Tenten. "But I had a best friend... she died," Kairi said, cutting her story short. "I was depressed. So depressed that I even tried committing suicide. I was stupid I know, don't even say anything," she said, as soon as she saw Tenten's mouth open. "But then... Sakura held me back. She called me stupid," Kairi had a small smile on her face.

Tenten sat in awe. It was the first time Kairi had this kind of expression on her face. Sakura must have meant a lot to her.

"So, when Sakura disappeared..." Kairi chuckled. "I guess you could say I was beating myself up mentally for it. I couldn't do anything to help her. I should've though. Who knew what she was going through," Kairi murmured, as she, too, stared at the white, blank walls. "She helped me out so much though..."

"Don't beat yourself up for it," Tenten's soft voice comforted Kairi. "She must've had a reason for not telling you guys. When the time comes... I think she'll tell you."

"You're too nice, Tenten," Kairi stated, looking at Tenten from the corner of her eye. "Here I am, sobbing about Sakura, and you're not even asking why I'm acting like this. Should be unusual, right? Since it's totally out of the blue," Kairi said this, as if she was talking to herself. "You know that she's back."

"Yeah," was all Tenten could say in this situation. It wasn't like she had to hide it – she just didn't know how to bring up the topic. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Me?" Kairi blinked at Tenten, wondering why she was asking this. "I'm fine," she said, but laughed when she realized why Tenten was asking. "Misaki was right – it's mostly due to stress that I freak out. And with Sakura back..." Kairi ruffled her hair, not knowing what to say after that. "I just don't know what will happen. Will _you_ be okay?" Kairi eyed Tenten's expression, monitoring every shift in her face muscles, for signs of break downs.

Tenten pondered on the thought. Would she be okay? She didn't know it herself. "I'll be fine," Tenten waved the matter off. "I mean, it's not like I'll die with Sakura around, right?" She joked, giving Kairi a smile.

Kairi smiled back nodding. "Ah, I guess I was worried for nothing," she sighed, smoothing down her crazy hair. "I should go now. Mom will kill me if Misaki dies of starvation," she rolled her eyes as she walked towards the front entrance of the manor. "Have fun with Neji tonight," Kairi commented suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows. "Make it a memorable night!" She shouted, fully escaping the wrath of Tenten.

"You - !" Tenten stopped herself from shouting profanities in the Hyuuga Manor. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to say things that would more or less 'dishonor' the Hyuuga Manor.

She stood there unmoving for a few minutes, before realization dawned on her. She smiled to herself, walking up the stairs cheerfully.

* * *

"Thank you for looking after Konohamoru."

"Don't worry about it," Sakura said, smiling at Sarutobi. It brought back memories of her tutoring days. "It was fun," she said, ruffling Konohamoru's hair. "Take care," she said, giving a small wave.

"You too," was all he said, before shutting the door behind him.

Walking up the great number of stairs, Sakura complained in her mind. They still haven't fixed the elevator – that meant she had to use the stairs for this coming week. "What a pain," Sakura grumbled to herself. As soon as she entered her apartment, she dropped on her sofa. She laid still for awhile, before sitting up straight.

Nothing good would come out of just sitting there, that she knew very well herself. She bit her lip; she was far from being jetlagged. In another sense, she felt energized and fully recharged. Sakura immediately got up, grabbing her wallet and cell phone. She debated on who to call – after all, she didn't want to explore Konoha by herself. It felt like everything changed, and it probably did.

She searched her contacts for people she wanted to call. Her finger hovered over the call button when she stopped at a certain name. Mustering up her courage, she pressed the call button hard. She would have to kill herself for it later, knowing how embarrassed she'll be, but at least she won't have any more regrets. She put the phone to her ear, waiting for the other line to pick up. It rang for a total of four times; just as she was about to hang up, the other line picked up. Neither one of them said anything – Sakura felt her heart beating, and it was getting louder with each breath she took.

"Hello?" His voice brought back memories to her. She couldn't even begin to understand why she left him in the first place. It took her through a series of flashbacks, from when they first met to when they first had their fight. Their fight that started it all.

Suddenly, he felt so far away. She was afraid; she was afraid that he would be so far away that she couldn't reach him anymore. So far away that they would be strangers to one another. It pained her to think that way – she didn't want that to happen. She wanted to keep their relationship, whatever kind of relationship they have leftover. She didn't want him to slip out of her grasp, no matter how selfish it was.

"Neji..." She choked out.

* * *

She had no idea what she was doing. People would have probably thought she was a crazy girl, sitting out in the cold for no reason, but she ignored that. They didn't know what her reason for sitting out here was – they didn't understand.

Tenten shivered slightly, stuffing her hands into her jacket pocket. She could feel the warmth from her face die away slowly as another strong wind past over her. She buried her face into her scarf, suppressing another shiver.

"Stupid Neji..." Tenten frowned, not liking the situation.

So maybe it wasn't Neji's fault. Tenten had been a bit too excited that he wanted to go somewhere with her – for he seemed to never have time for her. That, and the fact that on most days, she had to tutor Konohamoru after school. She felt bad enough that she was the reason why Neji cancelled the plan to go to America, and she wanted to make up for it by showing up early. She always thought that Neji would be the type of person to show up early to these kinds of things. She had no idea where that assumption came from, but from Neji's personality, it seemed like he would show up at least ten minutes earlier than the agreed time.

Oh, how stupid she was for thinking that.

She shivered again, stomping her feet to wake up her legs. She was going numb – she could feel it in her feet. She took into consideration the consequences of coming out early. She already had on at least three pairs of socks (she did not like the cold very much), and had wrapped around her scarf at least three times around her neck. She probably looked like Santa Claus with the number of layers she was wearing underneath her jacket.

"I can't take this anymore!" She surrendered, shooting up from her seat. She ignored the pedestrian's strange looks towards her, and rushed towards the igloo-like playhouse that brought back memories.

She settled into it, getting herself comfortably. It didn't occur to her that Neji might not find her – he probably would, or at least look into the playhouse before assuming that Tenten did not get what he was saying. Neji was stupid; he probably would find her. Tenten smiled, staring at what Neji had written on the igloo-like playhouse. It felt like yesterday they were here together... it felt like yesterday when they were just friends. Tenten sighed as she continued to shiver. At least there wasn't wind.

She stayed there for what seemed like hours, but it was probably minutes. Waiting in the cold made everything seem longer than usual, that she knew very well. Tenten wanted to check her watch for the time, but decided against it, not wanting to take out her hand in the freezing cold. Even if she had on mittens, it would take her at least minutes to warm her hand up in her pocket again.

"I'll just wait it out..." Tenten murmured to herself. It wasn't like Neji wasn't going to come. It would only be a few minutes before he showed up.

The wind roared outside of the playhouse, which sent a shiver down Tenten's spine. It felt like a storm was coming. Out of all the days, why today? Tenten frowned to herself. Obviously Neji hadn't checked the weather. She felt her ears turn into icicles. She cried to herself – why did she have to run out of the house? Why hadn't she bothered to check if she remembered to bring her ear muffs?

But Tenten knew that asking all these questions would just make her feel even more stupid than she already was. She should've never came out early – but it was too late to go back now. It was probably six already – Neji would show up at any time now. At any time.

She hummed a random song to herself. It was better than just thinking about what she could have done. She kept staring at the 'I love you' written on the playhouse wall. A small smile appeared on Tenten's face, and that was enough to warm her up for the remaining time she waited for Neji. Just thinking about it made her feel warm all over – she could hardly keep herself from blushing as she thought about her past moments with Neji.

He made her feel warm. He made her feel secure. He made her feel... happy.

And that was enough for Tenten. She continued to wait in the frightening cold, with the thought of Neji on her mind. It wasn't like he was never late for something – of course, he _is _human. He can make mistakes, and maybe he was just running late. Heck, maybe she had just guessed the time wrong. After all, she didn't check what time it was, anyways.

Or maybe he was just waiting outside. Maybe he didn't know that she had taken the meeting spot into the playhouse. She laughed. She shouldn't doubt Neji. She'll just wait a little longer, before heading outside to wait for him. She hummed to herself again, randomly stomping her feet sometimes, to keep herself entertained. She rocked back and forth, but suddenly stopped. It was funny how she realized she was acting like Kairi; she shook her head. The cold was really getting to her.

No matter how many minutes passed, Tenten refused to check the time. It was too cold to take out her hand, she insisted, thinking to herself. He'll show up anyways, and when he does, she'll feel warm again. It's no big deal, she kept thinking to herself. She would just have to wait. She waited much longer before, so this shouldn't be anything new. She was strong – she knew that she was strong. She could deal with the cold. She could deal with anything thrown into her way.

She could deal with Sakura.

Tenten shook her head immediately, getting rid of the thought. What was she thinking? Hadn't she just wanted to leave her alone? Why was she suddenly thinking that now? Tenten muttered a few colorful lines under her breath.

The cold was _really_ getting into her head.

* * *

She felt awkward.

Truth be told, she knew that this situation would come one day, but she didn't know that it would come this quickly. What should she do? How should she act? She had no idea what to do anymore. She eyed him across the table, suddenly regretting calling him out. Why did he even accept in the first place? Wasn't he mad at her for leaving?

Hyuuga Neji was always full of surprises.

"Are we done here?" His voice was cold. It no longer held the warmth for her like it did before.

Sakura sensed the immediate change of personality when she heard his voice. She was stupid, for thinking that he would take her back again. She just wanted someone to hold her like he did before...

"Ah," was her reply.

What was she thinking, calling him out here.

As he stood up to leave, Sakura's hand shot out and grabbed his arm. She felt him turn rigid under her touch, like it was forbidden to even make physical contact with him. "I'm sorry..." was all she said.

"It's fine," his short and clear response threw Sakura back. Was that all he had to say to her? Was that all she meant to him? She refused to believe that.

"I just – "

"I have somebody waiting for me," was his curt reply. He stared at her hand, still gripping onto his arm. "Can you let go of me? You made me as late as it is," he said stoically.

She loosened her grip, and eventually let her arm fall down. That was it. He was as far away from her now. He slipped away through her fingers, just when she thought she had him. "Bye," was all that was heard from her.

"Good bye," he said back to her.

As soon as he exited the small shop, he regretted not brining gloves. Sticking his hands rather harshly into his pockets, he hurriedly cut through the crowds of people, trying to get to his destination quick. He checked the time – he was two hours late.

Muttering an incoherent sentence under his breath, he picked up his speed, nearly bumping into an adult. He didn't bother to apologize – he was too preoccupied at the moment. All he could think about was Tenten. He shouldn't have gone to meet Sakura. He shouldn't have. But he did anyways. He knew that it was stupid of him to, but he couldn't help himself. The feeling came back to him once he heard her voice – it was the same feeling he had when they were together, in the past.

But he knew that it would never work. He didn't like her anymore – at least, he didn't think that he did. All he cared about right now was Tenten. If she asked where he was for the past two hours, he wouldn't know how to respond. It wasn't like he didn't want her to know whom he was meeting up, or what he had been doing; he just didn't want her to worry. It bothered him slightly about how she would act if she told him. What was he exactly afraid of? He didn't know that himself.

It took him a quick twenty minutes to walk towards the playground that held happy and at the same time, bitter memories for him. He took a glance at the park – she didn't seem to be there. A fierce wind rippled through the air, and he took a step back from the pressure of the wind. It lasted for a while, but he knew that he couldn't just stand there and wait for it to past. He continued to walk throughout the park, against the wind that was battering his face. He ended up at the igloo-like playhouse. For some reason, he felt nervous.

He didn't know why, but he felt like he was stuck. He couldn't move his feet. He didn't know whether it was due to the cold, or due to the fact that he was scared. Scared – that word made him laugh. When was he, Hyuuga Neji, scared? He was never scared. Not even with Sakura – he was anxious at times, but he was never scared because of her. Tenten made him feel something different, something different from the way he felt with Sakura.

Eventually, he peered into the playhouse, after seconds of staying in the cold. He saw what he was afraid of.

No one was there.

He cursed at himself. He was too late. She probably left already, after waiting at least three hours for him to show up. He turned his heel to go back to the Hyuuga Manor, not realizing that he had nearly bumped into someone who was entering the park. He didn't care, nor did he bother to apologize or give that person the time of his day. His mind was filled with thoughts of Tenten, and he felt insanely guilty for being three hours late.

The person he bumped into, however, cursed under her breath as her cup of chocolate nearly spilled on her jacket. She was about to turn around and yell at the thoughtless person who bumped into her without saying something around the lines of, "I'm sorry," but he already disappeared into the depths of the night.

She frowned to herself, but dismissed the thought of the rude man. What _was_ that man doing here, anyways? It was odd that anyone would come out at this time of night, especially with the winds this strong. She chuckled to herself – she shouldn't be saying anything, after all, there she was, waiting for Neji.

Tenten took her seat in the ice cold playhouse, sipping her hot chocolate. She melted in satisfaction, as the hot, steaming liquid touch her lips. She didn't know what time it was, but it didn't matter – all that mattered was that she had the hot chocolate to keep her warm, and Neji was going to come soon.

She felt minutes go by, as she finished her hot chocolate. She frowned at the sight of her empty cup. She wanted to savor every sip, but she gone and finished the whole thing. She sighed, and hugged her legs, putting her chin on her knees. Her hand was out in the cold now. She could check the time on the watch that was only a few inches away from her face. She closed her eyes – she didn't want to. It was too much work to do, and she was tired.

She didn't want to look at the watch, no matter how much she wanted to. Curiosity killed the cat – she didn't want curiosity to kill her, too.

She took a deep breath, letting the icy air calm her burning lungs. She felt oddly hot for some reason, but she dismissed that thought immediately. She was just delusional. Staying out in the cold had its affect on her, and she knew that this one wasn't a good one. She hummed a song to herself as she tapped her fingers on her leg. It would probably take a while for Neji to get here, she thought to herself. After all, everyone had their days. He probably ran into some complications along the way.

_'That's right. I shouldn't be so negative. I'll just wait a while before checking the time,' _Tenten thought to herself.

But she knew that real reason for not checking her watch.

She didn't want to face the fact that Neji stood her up.

* * *

-

-

Hm. So I guess this isn't a totally long chapter, but hey, I updated early! Kind of a surprise, too. I guess I work better under stress (: I'm totally procrastinating right now – I have to finish reading for my English class, but hey, it's due on Tuesday! Although reading 8 chapters before Tuesday seems to not be the best idea...

I have to say, from the beginning of the story, there's a dramatic change in the length, and maybe even the writing. I was just looking over the story, since I forgot half the things I wrote (I swear I'm going senile, even if I'm not that old...), and... yeah, I guess you should know how it went from there. I should really go back and re-re-edit my chapters, since I edited them before. Hm. Oh well; I shall do that another day. Around 6,000 words; yay, a new record for me!

I have a global in-class essay test tomorrow. Oh noes.... (: I shall fail with pride, don't you worry!

Next update; I'll try to update in the next two, three weeks, since spring break is coming~!

**WhippedCoffee(:  
**_reivew please; I would like to know if any of my readers died throughout the story (don't take that literally!), or in other words, completely gave up reading this (:_


	41. Feb 11 to 13, Sun to Tues

**6 Months with the Hyuuga Family  
**_By: Whipped Coffee _

**Disclaimer**  
_I don't own Naruto.  
If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?_

**Month Three**  
_Day Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six_

**Chapter 41—**One Minute One Second

Life was like an ocean.

Well, not really.

But at this time, Tenten couldn't help but think that. Rain was all she could see, or even hear. Only moments after she had settled in the playhouse after getting her coffee did it start. It pounded against the hard concrete pavement, filling her eardrums with a constant reminder.

Neji left her.

She sniffed – not because she was crying, but because it was getting colder each second. Her nose had been running since ten minutes ago, but she hadn't noticed. She was too numb to notice. Tenten shivered, burying her face deeper in to her scarf, if that was even possible.

She felt stupid. Why was she still here? She didn't want to answer that question – she figured if she just left it alone, a miracle would happen. Maybe Neji would even show up. Tenten frowned to herself. She knew that wasn't going to happen. How many hours had it been already? She wasn't that stupid. Even if she didn't check the time, she knew that he had to be at least two hours late into their meeting time.

She sighed, finally getting up on her feet and out of the playhouse. She forgot to bring an umbrella, since she only thought it would be a quick meeting before they headed to somewhere warm and dry. But obviously that wasn't the case at the moment. It didn't matter much anymore – Tenten didn't mind getting wet.

She walked slowly towards the street, her heart feeling heavier with each footfall. Why should she feel guilty? It wasn't like it was her fault – it was _his._ He was the one who didn't show up, even after she waited all this time. So she shouldn't be feeling guilt. She should be feeling angry.

But she couldn't bring herself to be angry at him.

Neji wasn't the type of person to ditch. Tenten knew that. So what had kept him up? She thought back to what could have happened to him, and came out with only one explanation: Sakura. Her fist tightened in her jacket pocket, but she left it at that.

But Neji didn't know that Sakura was back. Tenten stopped walking, taking a moment to gather up her feelings to move forward again. Once her feet came in contact with the ground, the thoughts whirled up.

So Sakura called Neji earlier than she thought. But that didn't mean there would be a change in their relationship. It doesn't mean that he'll break up with her –

Tenten cursed to herself and smacked her head with her gloved hand. She shouldn't be thinking like this. She resumed walking, or rather, stomping down the street, her guilty mood suddenly turning into a foul mood. She didn't want to be the type of girls to constantly worry about the possibilities of what would happen if Sakura and Neji met up again. She didn't want to be insecure, nor did she want to be overly clingy with Neji.

But then again, she didn't want to be a lot of things.

Tenten arrived at the Hyuuga Manor shortly afterwards. She slipped by the gates and took her time getting towards the front steps of the Manor. She contemplated on what she would do if she saw Neji – ah, to heck with it, she would just have to wing it.

Gingerly putting her foot into the floor, she tried her best not to make any noises (or get the floor wet) while she silently proceeded to go to her room. She didn't bother to turn on any lights; it would only be of an inconvenience. As soon as she arrived at the stairs, she made a quiet dash for her room. She slowed down a bit when she found herself in front of Neji's room; she wondered if he was already asleep, or reading before bed like he usually does. As much as she wanted to find out, she tore her stare away from the door and continued to walk towards her room.

Once she was in her room, she closed her door gently, in fear of waking someone up if she slammed it. She slid down to the floor whilst leaning against her door, breathing out heavily. She was drenched from the rain, and although she was finally in a warm place, she still couldn't feel her feet.

She could feel a cold coming tomorrow.

* * *

"There's no need."

Hiashi knew that Neji was going to be against it. He knew from the moment that he mentioned the words 'Tenten' and 'job' together, it would all just go downhill from there. Hiashi also knew that change was difficult for Neji – but in any case, it had to change. Nothing can stay the same forever.

"Neji, you have to understand," Hiashi tried again. "Sheltering Tenten here would not do her any good. She needs to grow as a person, and so do you. If you two stay together here under the same roof forever..." He stared at Neji, trying to see if he understood. "You both will not grow as people."

Neji gritted his teeth, although he made no other motion to counter his statement. What could he do? Hiashi was the head—anything that he says, goes. Neji knew that his opinion wouldn't be injected into Hiashi's decisions. There was no point in even voicing his thoughts.

"Neji," Hiashi started again, knowing fairly well that Neji still didn't agree with him. "Think about Tenten. She would not want to be here forever, for the rest of her life."

"How would you know?" Neji spoke back harshly, having enough of Hiashi's lectures. He bowed his head a bit when he saw Hiashi's expression. "My apologies... I did not mean to say it like that."

Hiashi's eyes softened a bit, observing Neji's change in attitude. He too, had grown as a person. Now it was time for Tenten to grow. "I am not forbidding you two to date," he said in a softer, quieter tone. "You two will only live in different vicinities." It was more of statement than a suggestion.

Neji nodded his head slowly, since that was all he could do. Once he saw Hiashi's nod, signaling that he could now leave, he headed for the door. Once outside, closing the door shut without a noise, he let out a small breath that he didn't even realize he was holding in. He stood for a minute, gathering his thoughts, before taking a step towards his room.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. He studied the floor with curiosity, wondering why the floor was glimmering. Then it hit him—it was water. Following the puddles of water, he found himself standing in front of Tenten's room. He stared at the door, not knowing what to do. Not knowing what to feel.

No light could be seen from underneath the door, nor were there any noises to indicate that she was awake. Neji hesitated, his hand hovering over the door knob. "Good night, Tenten," he said softly, withdrawing his hand.

* * *

_Day Twenty-Five_

Tenten hated colds.

But even though she hated colds, she never hesitated to stay out in the rain to play.

It was back then when she used to play with the other kids at the orphanage. It was only then she hadn't developed her temper yet. The rain calmed her, soothed her, and provided a sense of relaxation for her. Of course, the other kids always thought that she was a freak, since no one seemed to be as obsessed with the rain as much as she seemed to be.

But she didn't care.

It was fun to play in it, even if she had been alone. None of the other kids had been willing to catch a cold by staying out in the rain storm, but Tenten didn't care. The consequences would be harsh, but she loved it anyways.

But getting a cold sucked.

Really badly.

She sneezed for the fifth time in a mere two minutes. Falling asleep with wet hair hadn't been too bad (she had taken a quick shower before jumping to bed), but waking up with a horrible headache and a running nose wasn't an ideal morning. She buried herself deeper into her warm bed as she tried to get some sleep before it was time for school.

And then her alarm rang.

She groaned, rolling over in bed. She felt like she was in no condition to go to school, nevertheless even get out of bed. She pulled the covers over her head, muffling out the sound of the alarm.

"Tenten-san?" A knock could be heard.

Tenten didn't bother replying as the maid opened the door slowly, as if scared to awake the girl. "Are you awake?" She asked, stepping into the room quietly. She looked at the bed, and frowned as she headed towards the windows. She pushed aside the curtains, although that hadn't been effective in waking her up since the sun had not rise yet. "It is time to get ready, Tenten-san."

"I'm sick! I don't want to go!" Tenten complained from underneath her covers.

The maid walked over, pulling at the blank. "You do look bad, Tenten-san," the maid commented. "I will go report this to Hiashi-sama."

After the maid left, Tenten fell back asleep. It was only a few minutes later (or so Tenten thought, but in actuality it was two hours) that she heard voices in the background. She ignored them, trying to block out the sounds. "Shut up," she mumbled a little, burrowing her head further into her pillow. At once, the voices seemed to vanish from her ears. A small smile bloomed on Tenten's face as she slept soundlessly.

Two o'clock in the afternoon rolled around quickly. Tenten opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the bright light that filled her room. She groaned in frustration, feeling her headache coming back. "Someone turn off the sun..." Tenten whined quietly to herself, knowing that no one else would hear her.

When silence greeted her back, she sighed. Used to the blinding sun after a few minutes of blinking, she opened her eyes wide to stare at the ceiling. How long had she been asleep? She couldn't remember, but she felt reenergized after sleeping for so many hours.

Hey face lit up as she noticed a tray of food set out for her on the table beside her bed. She quickly ran to her bathroom to brush her teeth, and then jumped back into her bed. She felt a lot better than she did in the morning—at least ten times better. Her nose wasn't as runny anymore, and the headache was gone. She sipped her soup with a content smile, savoring the slight warmness it still held after what she guessed, a few hours of sitting.

"And here I thought you were starving to yourself."

Tenten blinked at the voice. She turned her head towards the opened door, and smiled in confusion when she saw Ino with a white plastic bag. Kairi popped her head out from behind and gave her a frown. "You don't look sick at all!" She complained, pushing Ino aside, making way for herself to enter the room.

Ino glared at Kairi, but said nothing else. "Unlike someone here," Kairi glanced over at Ino, "I said that you probably weren't all that sick, but Ino thought you died in your sleep or something."

"Better safe than sorry!" Ino argued back, placing the bag of food near Tenten's bed. "She's just angry that she couldn't afford the parfait that she saw at Kiba's cafe."

"I could've gotten a discount if you didn't rush me," Kairi muttered to herself as she went through the bag of food, which resulted in a slap on her hand from Ino.

"If I didn't rush you, then you would've been there all day stuffing your face with food," Ino retorted back. "And I had to leave Shika too," she frowned to herself, eyeing Tenten's appearance. "She's right; you don't even look sick! Did you just say that to cut school?"

"I was sick!" Tenten defended herself, putting her finished soup aside. "I was worse when I woke up," she grumbled. "Did I miss anything at school? What's the special occasion, coming to visit me with food?" She asked curiously, eyeing the bag.

She was right—they wouldn't have come for the pure intention of just checking up on Tenten, and Tenten knew that. It wasn't because they didn't care; it was just their nature. After all, they could find the details from Hinata. Kairi looked at Ino nervously, who only ignored Kairi's stare. She shrugged, showing indifference. "Not my problem," Ino said, staring at her manicured nails. "She's the one who didn't contact me. I have no relationship with her whatsoever."

"You're being such a baby, Ino," Kairi glared at Ino, who pursed her lips but otherwise showed no response.

Tenten looked down at her hands. She could already guess what was coming; they were going to tell her that Sakura transferred to their school. It wasn't a big deal, really. She looked back up at Kairi, who looked like she was having a tough time trying to tell her. She didn't get why they always hesitated to tell her things like that. She sighed, deciding to put Kairi out of her misery by telling her that she already knew.

"Sakura transferred right?"

"I told you she knew," Ino muttered, still staring at her nails.

"It's like you're psychic..." Kairi laughed nervously, unsure of what was going to happen from there on.

Tenten only grinned at her.

"So, when do I meet her?"

* * *

_Day Twenty-Six_

"I thought you died, Tenten!" Misaki said with mock horror as soon as he saw her that following day. "Hinata-san made you sound like you were on the verge of falling into a coma!"

Tenten laughed at his attempt to greet her. It was kind of refreshing to see his lively face after hours of lost sleep the night before. "That was probably because I was dead asleep," she said as she thought back to when she was still sick. It was true—she felt like a rock back then. It amazed her how she couldn't sleep a wink last night before she went to bed. She leaned back in her chair comfortably, sniffling every now and then.

Misaki grinned widely as he heard this. "You have a lot of class work to catch up on, miss," he said in a teacher-like fashion as he bobbed his head up and down. He proceeded to pick up his book bag, slamming it down on the table, resulting in a loud _thud_. "I was out for only two days and I could barely understand half the words that came out of Asuma-sensei's mouth." He shuddered at what seemed to be a bad memory. "I failed that test," he moaned, lowering his head.

Tenten laughed at him. "You don't understand half the things Asuma-sensei says on a regular basis, anyways."

Misaki brought up his head and laughed sheepishly. "That's true..." He scratched his head as he struggled with something inside his book bag. The sight was quite amusing, really. It seemed as if he was fighting with a huge rodent that lived inside his bag, eating all his homework and papers. That could have been a great reason as to why he never had his homework when needed.

And knowing Misaki, the possibility of a huge rodent living in his bag was high.

"So, how'd you get sick anyways?" Misaki asked curiously, looking at her from the corner of his eye. He was still digging through his book bag for something. "You wouldn't have been that stupid as to stay out in the rain, would you?" As if thinking about what he just said, he laughed to himself. "Oh wait, it's you. Of course you would be the one to stay out in that crazy weather."

Tenten gave him a half-hearted smile as she coughed into her hand. She wasn't going to reply to his question – it seemed long forgotten as the next topic started.

"Oh hey look, your hubby is here," Misaki said in a voice that she'd never imagine him to have.

Tenten ignored his ridiculous antics and hesitantly looked up, noticing that Neji was approaching them. Which was to be expected, since he sat next to her. She braced herself for any words from him—any words of any kind. Truthfully, she was waiting for an explanation. She understood why he might've stood her up (Tenten cringed when she thought of the words—it left a sour taste in her mouth when she thought about it) since she couldn't cross out the possibilities of him being caught up in a troublesome situation, but she didn't understand why he couldn't have visited her when she was sick.

After all, his room was right down the hall.

Unfortunately, there were no words exchanged between the two. Neji passed by like nothing happened, and Tenten played the whole I'm-not-going-to-say-anything-until-you-say-something-first act. She frowned to herself at his lack of explanation. Was he just going to let it go like this? She sighed silently to herself as the bell rang.

This would irk her for the rest of the day.

How she ended up in Kakashi's class already, she did not know. Hours flew by her without her noticing, and before she realized it, there was only five minutes left until the period ended, before lunch started. To say that she wasn't nervous would be a lie, although she was not trembling with fear. She had yet to hear how Sakura was like – sure, the others talked of her countless times, but they never exactly described her personality. Sasuke hadn't been in class for her to ask either, and with the way things stood with Neji, it seemed like she wouldn't be talking to him any time soon.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Students rushed out of the class without a second thought, ignoring Kakashi's futile attempt to shout the assignment due tomorrow. Tenten heard Kakashi mutter some incoherent words under his breath as he took out a rather interesting book. She stared at the others who rushed out of the classrooms with an unnerving feeling. Had it been any other time, she would've done the same thing. Things were different now; at least to her, things felt a lot different.

Sighing, Tenten gathered her things into her bag and stood up. She was the last student to leave the room, which was something odd. Usually all the students would jam through the door at the same time. Kakashi looked up and threw her an odd glance (or at least she thought it was an odd glance. She couldn't really tell since he was wearing that mask – which she was confused at; were they even allowed to wear masks in school?) before a look of recognition crossed his face.

"Tenten," Kakashi called out, motioning for her to come closer as he set down his book. As soon as Tenten did, he gave her a sheet with red marks. "I was going to give it back tomorrow, and making all of you retake the test after your horrible failures," he said in an unenthused tone, "and since you're the only one who has the small amount of respect left, you have the honor of getting yours back early," he said as his eyes curved in a crescent shape, which only meant that he was smiling. "Truthfully, I thought you would have done better than this," he suddenly said in a serious voice, all humor in his tone gone. "You've been getting a row of low grades. Normally I expect this from Naruto, but not you." He broke off in his thought and stared longingly at the lone book lying on his desk. "If you need any help—"

"It's fine," Tenten cut in, wanting to get out of the classroom as quickly as she can. She knew that Kakashi probably wanted her out too, so he can engross himself in his book again. Besides, if he was offering to help her after school... Tenten involuntarily made a weird face at the thought. It would be all too awkward, not to mention it wouldn't help at all.

Kakashi only nodded mindlessly. Tenten sighed. It was no use trying to say anything, since his mind wasn't even with them at the point. It was probably off in cloud nine, along with his perverted book. "Well, if there's nothing else you need help on, you can go," Kakashi said, reverting his eyes back to Tenten, wondering why she was still standing there. Usually, students would've ran off when he was distracted by his beloved book—why was she still there?

"Ah," Tenten nodded, and readjusted her straps on her shoulder as she walked quickly out of the room. She shook her head violently as she felt a headache coming along. It wasn't the best way to get rid of it, but it did help for the most part. She quickly walked down the stairs that led to the cafeteria. Spotting her usual table, she rushed along the small crowds of teens. As soon as she was in sight of the people sitting around it, she noticed a blob of pink.

"Hi Tenten!" Naruto's face came into view as he excitedly waved his hand at her. The smile on his face was contagious; Tenten found herself smiling along with him. "This is Sakura-chan!" His excitement made up for the lack of it at the table once she got there.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her. Her smile slowly faded away before she realized that they were waiting for to say something. Tenten cracked an awkward smile (although she hoped it wasn't that noticeably awkward) towards the said girl. "Nice to meet you, Sakura-san."

The pink haired smiled happily back, not noticing the tension at the table. "It's so good to finally meet you, Tenten!"

_'If only it were the same for me,' _Tenten thought dryly as she sat down next to Hinata. With that, the conversations resumed once again. Kairi was animatedly explaining something to Sakura, with every hand gesture and whatnot. Ino was of course, still sulking at the fact that Sakura hadn't even apologized for not contacting her over the few months that she was gone. Ino continuously poked at her salad, each poke getting harder and harder.

Only Hinata seemed to notice Tenten's discomfort.

"A-Are you okay?" Her voice was full of concern as she stared at Tenten's unhappy expression.

Tenten blinked at Hinata. "I'm fine," she said, clearing her throat as she unwrapped a sandwich. She took a big bite into it, so she wouldn't have to say anything else to Hinata. For some reason, she wasn't feeling very talkative today.

"Neji..."

Tenten froze as she heard that word left Sakura's mouth. As much as she wanted to look up and see his expression, she refrained herself from doing so. No—she wouldn't. She wouldn't succumb to her wishes so quickly. There was a moment of silence at the table, as if every one of them was waiting for something spectacular. Tenten began to chew slowly again, and swiftly stole Kairi's milk seeing as though Kairi was too occupied with staring at Neji and Sakura.

If he wasn't going to talk to her, then she wouldn't acknowledge him either.

There was nothing more in the world that she wanted to do than have the ground swallow her up right now. Even if no one's eyes were on her—she assumed that all eyes were on Sakura—it was still mildly embarrassing for her. Tenten crushed the sandwich wrapper with unexplainable strength and shoved the rest of her sandwich into her mouth. Her lunch was finished, and all she needed to do was throw out her garbage, however little it may be. Her excuse to leave was soon gone when a lunch aid stomped by and grabbed her wrapper, throwing it into the movable garbage can that she rolled around.

And so Tenten was stuck in a predicament.

The interminable silence drove her to a wall—how long were they going to keep this up? Wasn't it the first time they saw each other? Why aren't they smiling, hugging, or at least even exchanging words? Tenten glared at a dark spot on the table, as an odious smell wafted up her noise, making Tenten grimace. It might have been just her imagination, since no one commented on it.

She felt sick.

Tenten abruptly stood up, exiting the table rather quickly avoiding any questions that they might have thrown at her. As soon as she neared the doors, she turned her head slightly to see if anyone noticed, or even cared, that she was gone.

Just as she thought, no one did.

"What are they doing, having a staring contest?" She muttered to herself as she saw how the two stared at each other.

* * *

Once inside class, Tenten felt more exhausted than usual. She guessed that the after effects of her cold were worse than she thought. Nasal congestion was the worst, especially when she had a headache and itchy eyes. Sniffling slightly, she tried to pay attention as Orochimaru continue on about something that sounded like a voltaic cell. What in the world was that, anyways? Tenten shook her head to get rid of the headache. She missed one day of school and they were already on another topic.

"Class dismissed," came Orochimaru's voice as the bell rang.

Tenten trudged her way to her next class, pointedly ignoring everyone who tried to speak to her. She was too tired to even care at this point, which reminded her; she still had to go to Konohamaru's later. The job was looking less promising every passing hour since Sakura showed up – she knew that Konohamaru would be talking about Sakura. It was just instinct.

"Good afternoon, Tenten. Did you have a nice day at school?"

Tenten was a bit surprised that Sarutobi was still home when she got to their apartment that afternoon. Usually he would leave only minutes earlier than she arrived, so she would usually see him on her way into the apartment. At least, that was the routine almost every day. What brought on this new change?

"I have news for you," he said with a smile as he gestured her to come in. As soon as Tenten took off her shoes and stepped in the hallway that connected to the living room, he continued to talk again. "The previous owners of the empty complex left their furniture there. They thought that it was too much of a hassle to bring everything with them, so they left them there. You can decide to throw it out though, seeing as though it might be odd to use someone else's furniture, but I thought that on your budget and since you're still a student, it might be of use to you."

Tenten widened her eyes in surprise. Truthfully, she hadn't thought of Sarutobi's offer for a while. Getting sick and meeting Sakura as well as other things made her too tired to even think about anything else.

"Well..." Tenten started off unsurely.

But in reality, this was a good deal. That much she knew. Eventually she would have to move out, find her own apartment, find a job, pay for the rent, buy furniture as well as other necessities... Now that she had this offer, she could cross out finding an apartment and paying for furniture off her list. She knew that she should say yes, but somehow she couldn't voice it out loud. It was as if an invisible force was holding her back.

"You don't have to answer if you're not ready," Sarutobi took notice of her hesitation as they walked towards the living room, where laughter echoed. "Learning how to live on your own is stressful," he commented as he stopped. He turned to face Tenten with a somewhat apologetic face. "Tenten," he suddenly said, "I'm sorry," he apologized "My stupid grandson wanted Sakura-san back as his tutor..." He trailed off as he stared into the living room.

So that was what the laughter was.

Tenten shook her head, giving him a forced smile. "It's fine," she said. "He seemes to be having fun with her." He never laughed like that with her.

"Really?"

"Yes I assure you, it's fine." He never smiled like that with her.

"Well then, I guess this is the last time I can ever pay you," Sarutobi said kindly as he handed Tenten an envelope. He held up a hand when Tenten opened her mouth to reject the money that he was offering. "Although you didn't tutor Konohamaru today, I still want to pay you, as a thank you for all that you've done. I haven't seen Konohamaru's grades this high in a long time," he added with a chuckle. "I do hope that you'll come visit sometimes. He's taken quite a liking to you, even though he doesn't show it."

"Really? It seems kind of hard to believe..." Because he never listened to her the way he was listening to Sakura now.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. Truthfully, this was how it started out with Sakura, too."

"Ah..." Of course. She was just Sakura's shadow.

"I'm truly sorry. If you need a job, the cafe down the block is hiring. I saw it on the way," Sarutobi said.

"I'll go see," It was like he was a different child. Not an ounce of malicious intent to run away was etched on his face.

"Thank you for understanding," Sarutobi said with a grateful smile. He looked back at the living room, "Kids these days," he said with a sigh as he escorted Tenten to the door.

Tenten smiled as she put on her shoes. Closing the door gently after her, she let out a slow breath. It took a minute or two for the news to sink in. She lost her job. To Sakura, nevertheless. Tenten smiled grimly at the sheer irony.

At least Neji will be happy that she didn't have a job anymore.

* * *

"Y-You're back already?" Hinata questioned as she saw Tenten walk through the main entrance of the Hyuuga Manor.

Tenten nodded unenthusiastically as she trudged her way towards the stairs. Hinata only stared with a timid expression, not knowing what had gotten into Tenten.

"I have to go o-out with Father somewhere," Hinata spoke up, stopping Tenten in her tracks. "Uhm... N-Neji-niisan will be coming along, as well as the rest of the family. It shouldn't take long, m-maybe... an hour or two," she added.

In other words, Hinata was telling her that she was going to be alone.

Tenten smiled grimly at that idea. She turned around, giving Hinata an assuring but tired smile. "Don't worry about it," the exhaustion was evident in Tenten's voice. "I'll be fine."

"Then..." Hinata trailed off as her eyes wandered around. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Tenten," Hinata said as she scurried along the long halls of the Manor.

As soon as Tenten entered her room, she threw herself onto her bed, not giving a care in the world about her homework. She'll just have to make up an excuse—her dog ate it, she lost it, the wind blew it away, it was thrown away by the maid—there were so many possible reasons that she could make up, but she knew her teachers wouldn't believe her. Oh well; she would just have to make it up some other time.

"Tenten-san?" The sounds of knocking echoed in the dark room as Tenten silently groaned to herself.

She felt relaxed in this awkward position, and she didn't want to move any time soon.

"Tenten-san?" The knocks of the maid's became slightly louder. "Are you there? Your friend is here to see you."

Tenten's ears perked up at the words. Her friend? Who would come to visit her at nine o'clock at night? Tenten reluctantly got off her bed, kicking away the scattered books that were misplaced all over the floor. She trudged her way unwillingly towards the door, only giving the maid a tired smile on her way towards the stairs. By now, she could navigate around the Hyuuga Manor blindfolded—although she would never do that, because it would only result in disruptive chaos, along with a few broken vases that cost more than she did.

"...Sakura?"

The pink hair was no joke. It stood apart from the white room, and occasionally a maid or two would glance about, wondering who the flamboyant girl was. Of course, Sakura seemed to be immune to the stares as she stood waiting nervously for someone, who apparently was Tenten.

"Ah, Tenten," Sakura gave her a polite smile as she wrung her hands behind her back. "Sorry for making you come down here. I guess they automatically thought that I was your friend..." She said in an apologetic tone. She suddenly widened her eyes as she realized how her words sounded. "Not that I'm not your friend!" She immediately cried. "But... I mean—"

"Are you here for Hinata then?" Tenten cut in quickly, saving Sakura the trouble of explaining herself. It felt like something heavy was sitting in her stomach, as if she ate a rock for dinner. Sakura gave her a shy smile that only made the feeling heavier and heavier.

"Actually, I'm here for Neji..." She said in a small voice as she avoided Tenten's eyes.

Of course.

"They're out," Tenten explained. "Hinata said that she had to go somewhere with Hiashi-san, and that the rest of them are going along too."

"Oh, really?" Realization struck Sakura's face. "I'm sorry for bothering you then," Sakura said in an apologetic tone. "I didn't think that they would be gone at this time, so—"

"It's fine," Tenten said, giving Sakura a reassuring smile. "Do you want to wait for them?" What was she doing?

Sakura blinked at Tenten, a bit shocked at the offer. "Uh..." Sakura mumbled unsurely as she wrung her hands behind her back again. "I... I don't want to impose since they might not even come back until tomorrow morning or something, so...."

Stop talking, stop talking. "Hinata said they were going to take an hour or two. You can stay and wait if you want, since you came all the way from your house at this time of the night...it's too late for you to be going home by yourself, anyways." What a lie. Sakura came here fine—why did she have to worry about Sakura getting home safely then? "Whatever you have to say must be important." It was like her mouth had a mind of its own. What was she doing?

Sakura looked a bit hesitant from the way she opened and closed her mouth. "...I guess," Sakura finally said after much thought. "If that's okay with you..."

Really, what in the world was she doing?

* * *

—

—

Sorry for the delay! I'm doing edits, once again, and I wanted to post this up when I finished editing the whole story... Although that didn't go quite so well. I'm only halfway through editing; you can see how obvious it is if you compare chapter 19 to the ones before. Bleh. I hate this. Hurm. Do you guys think I should delete the whole thing and just do a repost? 8) Nah. Too much work. So don't hate me for tweaking the chapters around a little You're all welcome to skim through it! Or reread it when the whole thing's done. And that's soon, which is awesome.!

& sorry if this chapter's confusing. Ish. GAH. I think I'm going insane.

So, on Thursday I had to do my oral part of my Spanish regents. I have to say, I failed that pretty badly even though my teacher said I got a good score... It's just the thought of not being able to think right at the moment and stumbling over my few words from pressure made me feel like I'm a total failure ): She was staring at me with a great big smile too. She's too nice. Way, way too nice. D:

So... next chapter, no idea when it's coming out. School's ending, finals are coming up... FML, I'm going to fail all of them(: But I'll most likely be procrastinating and writing new chapters, so no worries there I guess...

**One Minute One Second – Epik High**

WhippedCoffee(:  
_fmylife._


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